


the invisible ones

by copperwings



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: (mostly bad guys), Also fluff, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bickering, Gun Violence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Roasting, Scandinavian mythology AU, Some depictions of violence, Yuri is also a pain in the ass, Yuri is seventeen in the beginning, all the troll jokes, folklore AU, good thing Otabek has the patience of a rock wall, okay some angst too, okay some smut happened too, this fic is finished and updates regularly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-01-30 08:36:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 77,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12649998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperwings/pseuds/copperwings
Summary: In the present day, mostråhave vanished and become myths and legends; bedtime stories to be told to children. The few wardens of the nature that still exist usually live among humans unnoticed, blending into the population. But now someone is targeting therå, killing them off one by one. Otabek has been leading a solitary life in the wild, but he is asked to find Yuri Plisetsky, askogsråwho is completely unaware that he is not human and has vanished from foster care. Somehow, Otabek needs to find Yuri beforetheydo, and then teach him how to control his powers before he accidentally causes damage to himself or his surroundings.Then there’s also the matter of dealing with the shady Agency that is meddling in the lives of therå, as well as dealing with the hunters who seem determined to wipe every lastråoff the face of the earth… no big deal, right?(Or, the present-day AU that happily mixes inaccurate Scandinavian folklore with made-up fantasy elements.)





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> The title refers to _de osynliga_ (Swedish), which literally means “the invisible ones”. In folklore, _de osynliga_ was used to refer to the beings (such as nature spirits, elves etc.) that one could encounter but most people never do.

Otabek hears the whistling immediately as it starts, but he takes his sweet time to appear.

When he emerges from the undergrowth below the mountain he stops behind the trees that are closest to the car. From his hiding spot, he studies the silver-haired man who is leaning onto the Volvo and typing something into his phone. The shiny, brand-new Volvo and the man’s gray suit look like they belong in a high-end city environment, not on a dirt road deep in the forest.

“I can smell you,” comes the sing-song call from beside the car, and Otabek huffs, stepping forward so he’s not hidden by the trees anymore.

“I am not a dog, Victor,” Otabek informs him. “You want to call me, you can use my name.”

“But then again, you can call a dog by its name, too, and it comes.” Victor’s smile is amused as he lowers the phone and looks up.

Otabek lets out a sound that’s almost a growl.

Victor’s smile spreads wider. “Calm down,” he says condescendingly, and if the scent of the groundroot and salt wasn’t so thick around him, Otabek would rip his head off. Victor was annoying before, but he has become downright unbearable ever since he got the groundroot.

Victor smiles soothingly. “Otabek. It’s good to see you.” He looks up and down Otabek’s bare body, in that indiscreet, half-shocked way most humans regard nudity. “You look good. A bit shaggier than last time I saw you, but good nonetheless.”

“What do you want?” Otabek asks tiredly, standing close to the tree trunk. His stance is relaxed, but he is ready to bolt if needed.

“Straight to business, as usual,” Victor sighs and pockets his phone. “Well, then. Do you know anything about the recent events in the city?”

Otabek once lived in the city, but he hasn’t been there in years. He shakes his head cautiously.

“It’s getting pretty bad. Someone is targeting you guys.” Victor’s voice is serious.

Oh. _This_ he knows. It’s one of the reasons he chose to disappear into the mountains. He knew it wasn’t safe for him to stay.

Victor clears his throat. “It’s been a problem before, as I’m sure you know. But it’s getting worse. Three were found dead in the last month alone.”

Otabek blinks, and there is a strangling feeling in his throat. Why would Victor bother coming all the way out here to tell him this, if it wasn’t for—

“JJ?” Otabek asks in a faint voice.

“No, your friend is fine,” Victor says. “We got to him before they did. He’s in a safe place.”

Otabek exhales and looks down as relief washes over him. Then he fixes his gaze on Victor. “Well, you can give the Agency my thanks for saving JJ, but if you’re here to ask me to fight the bad guys alongside you, you can forget about it.”

Victor snorts. “Yes, you made it quite clear that one time I did ask you.”

Otabek has nothing against the idea of fighting for those who aren’t in a position to fight for themselves. What he _is_ opposed to are the Agency’s methods of protection, and hence fighting on their payroll is not an option. If he agrees to fight with them, he checks the _agree_ box on their terms and conditions, and Otabek is too aware of what it says in their terms and conditions to even go near that check box.

“But,” Victor says with some hesitation, “the Agency would like your help. Unofficially.”

Otabek gives him a steady stare and says nothing.

“Please, Otabek. We are swamped with these recent incidents,” Victor tries, sensing the resistance. “Plus, you wouldn’t be working within the Agency. You don’t have to follow our rules.”

“I don’t want anything to do with the Agency,” Otabek says in a low tone. He knows Victor can hear his words, quiet as they are.

“But you do want to help your people, right?” Victor strikes the spot where he knows Otabek is vulnerable. Because _of course_ he wants to help.

“What kind of a fucking question is that?” Otabek grumbles instead of giving a direct answer.

Victor smiles. He clearly knows he’s got Otabek. “Thank you,” he says empathetically. He picks up a nondescript brown paper folder from the hood of the car and takes a step closer to Otabek.

Otabek stands alert as Victor walks over, his designer shoes sinking into the mossy ground on each step. Otabek is ready to dash either at Victor or away from him at any second, but he stands absolutely still as Victor holds the folder out in his direction.

“I didn’t say I’d help you,” Otabek says, but he takes the offered item nonetheless.

“You’re not helping me,” Victor replies evenly. “You’re helping _him_. Even though he doesn’t know he needs your help.”

Otabek flips the folder open. Inside, there is a typical case file for someone, with a picture attached at the top of the sheet with a paper clip. Otabek sneers. “Another one from your archive?”

Victor looks like he wants to launch into one of his speeches about the archive, but instead he just nods at the folder, urging Otabek to read the file.

Otabek skims over the text, but it’s the photo at the top that really catches his attention. It looks like it’s taken from a distance, so the features are a bit blurry, but he can make out the sharp-featured face framed by blond hair, and what is clearly a pair of light-colored eyes.

Otabek looks up. “Why did you come to find _me_? With that hair and those eyes, there’s no way he belongs to the mountain.”

Victor sighs. “He doesn’t. He belongs to the forest.”

“Then why—?” It suddenly clicks and Otabek cuts himself off. Victor said there were three dead in the last month alone. “They got Celestino.”

It’s not a question, but Victor nods nonetheless.

For a moment it’s silent, only the soothing hum of the pine forest surrounding them. The rustle of the trees sounds sad, like they’re mourning a lost friend. Otabek swallows and his eyes slide down to the folder he’s holding in his hands. Clearly he has no option other than try to help this kid. There isn’t a lot of information on the printed sheet of paper. Name, age and last known location, and a mention of police case files and foster care.

“You said he doesn’t know he needs my help,” Otabek remarks.

“He doesn’t know what he is,” Victor replies. “Found in the forest as a toddler, been in a series of foster homes ever since. Something always… _happens_ , and he gets returned to the system.”

Otabek looks up from the folder to glare at Victor. “So you guys _archive_ him and keep an eye on him but no one ever cared enough to actually _help_ him?”

This is why the Agency can go suck a bag of dicks in Otabek’s opinion. They want to keep tabs on all non-humans, but they don’t want to _interfere_. Not even when someone’s life sucks balls because they don’t know why they keep causing weird things to happen in their environment.

As if hearing the unspoken accusations, Victor frowns. “He was flying under the radar for quite a long time, we didn’t _know_. We would have sent for Celestino, but…” he trails off. “And now he’s vanished from foster care and no one knows where he is or if he’s even alive anymore.”

“So that’s where I step in.” Otabek swallows and looks down at the picture of the _skogsrå_ who doesn’t know he’s a _skogsrå_.

He reads the name again from the first line of the file.

_Yuri Plisetsky._

Somehow, Otabek needs to find Yuri Plisetsky before _they_ do, and then teach him how to control his powers before it’s too late.

 

*

 

The wad of cash tucked into the brown paper folder makes Otabek feel like a major sellout as he weaves through the forest and back to the mountain. He knows it’s unofficial and he’s not really working for the Agency, but he still wants to fling the cash into the nearest stream and tell the Agency to shove it. Unfortunately, he has to go back into the city, and he can’t go back without money. He has some halfway decent clothes stashed somewhere— _maybe_ —but he needs resources if he wants to find Yuri Plisetsky. Still, Victor’s smirk upon handing over the cash annoys Otabek, long after Victor and his Volvo have departed the forest and the scent of salt and groundroot has disappeared.

At the foot of the mountain, he looks up at the familiar peaks rising high above the treetops. The damp rock plane of the rising hillside feels familiar under his bare feet. There’s moss dotting the rocky surface, so it’s soft and jagged at the same time as he paces toward the rise of the almost-vertical wall of stone ahead.

Despite living among humans for nearly fifteen years, Otabek never got used to wearing shoes. Shoes were restrictive, dulled his senses to the soft thrum of the earth beneath, made him feel like there was a wall between him and the ground. Not that there was much to feel in the city anyway, as the ground was full of tunnels for trains, sewage systems, heating pipes and electrical wiring. The ground in the city was so artificial that it felt like blindness under his bare feet; so perhaps wearing shoes was a blessing after all, to _not_ feel the dead quietness from underground.

He walks to the vertical rise of jagged rock wall and tucks the folder under his arm as he touches both hands to the surface. The rock feels warm under his fingertips despite the chill in the air. The mountain is welcoming him home, and Otabek feels bad he has to leave again soon. He feels the tiny vibrations under his fingers as the molecules within the rock shift, arranging and rearranging themselves to create a narrow crack in the wall for him to walk through.

Otabek doesn’t have the power to make the rock change shape. However, he has the power of asking the mountain to do it for him. The mountain could refuse him at any time if it deemed him unworthy, but so far it hasn’t. Otabek feels the edges of the narrow doorway scrape his skin as the pushes in, like the walls are touching him gently.

Once he gets to the naturally formed cavern on the other side of the rock wall, he turns to touch the bones of the mountain, sending a quiet thanks for letting him pass.

The wall closes behind him and he blinks, adjusting his vision from the daylight of the forest into the night vision needed underground. The only source of light here are minuscule cracks in the roof of the cavern, but it’s enough for him. He walks over to the corner where he sleeps, the water dripping into the underground pond from above in pace with his steps. He drops the folder on his bedding and turns to look around inquisitively.

Otabek searches for the backpack he knows is somewhere in the cave. He hasn’t needed it in a while, but now he’s going to, if he needs to pass as a human again.

Finally, he locates the backpack tucked behind some stone pillars. The backpack looks like it doesn’t belong in here. It’s one of those brightly-colored waterproof things, designed for people who go hiking, and Otabek can only hope it’s kept the items inside relatively dry. He pulls out some clothes that have a slightly musty scent, and a zippered toiletry bag. It’s weird going through this stuff again after not paying much attention to his looks for such a long time.

The still surface of the underground pond is disturbed as Otabek wades into it, standing waist-deep in the cool water. The rock bottom of the pond has been smoothed out by centuries of slowly moving water, and he curls his toes, enjoying the feeling of smooth stone beneath him. Otabek washes himself with the bar soap from the toiletry bag. He scrubs his hair with the soap as well, and realizes it’s grown quite a bit, as it’s now touching his shoulders.

After washing he pulls out a small handheld mirror and looks at his reflection. In the darkness of the cave his eyes are entirely black in that way he knows makes humans freak out if they see it. He combs his fingers through his hair and searches for the small shears to cut his hair.

It’s clumsy going at first, because it’s been a while, so Otabek ends up clipping the back too close to the skin. He angles his head, squinting at the small mirror, and decides he might just cut it very short at the sides and the back, leaving it longer at the top. He also shears the most of his beard and then shaves the shorter stubble off with a razor.

The result is kind of messy but he looks less like someone who lives inside a mountain and more like someone who lives, if not in a city, at least in a human household. Running his fingers against the hair on the back of his head feels weird, the short hairs fuzzy under his touch.

The clothes are easy. There is a pair of jeans that have survived being stuffed into a backpack for the better part of two years, a couple of t-shirts and a black hoodie. He dresses himself, frowning at the restrictive feeling of the fabric around him, then rummages to the very bottom of the backpack for the shoes. They’re black leather combat boots, dried out from being unused, and he treats them with beeswax before putting them on.

Otabek retrieves the brown folder from his messy bedding so he doesn’t forget it there as he leaves. He detaches a steel bottle hanging from the side of the backpack. After filling it with water dripping from one of the small streams emerging from the cracks in the walls, he looks around the cave. He pushes all his human stuff into the backpack, determined to not leave anything in the cave that wasn’t there to begin with.

Once outside, he presses his hands against the warm soothing side of the mountain and stands there for a while, giving thanks like he was taught.

_Thank you, brother; for shelter, for warmth, for company._

The quiet thrum of the earth goes through him like a series of waves, and for a moment he feels one with the mountain. He savors the feeling, because he doesn’t know when he’ll be back.

After the last lingering touch of the stone wall, he turns around and lifts the backpack from the rocky surface of the hillside, starting his long hike from the mountain to the edge of the forest.

 

*

 

As he walks the streets of the city the following morning, no one even looks at him twice. In his disguise of ordinary clothing, Otabek is just one of many, going about their business and living their lives in the city.

The smell and taste of the city is even worse than he remembered. For once, Otabek is thankful for the boots disconnecting him from the ground, because he doesn’t want to _feel_ it too. The air is a mixture of pollution, people, chemicals and a hint of salt from the harbor.

Otabek smiles a little at the salty sea air. The scent of the ocean always makes him think of JJ. He wonders where the Agency has sent JJ to keep him safe, and if there’s an ocean where he is. Then again, if someone has targeted JJ to kill him, they must know what he is. So perhaps he’s been hidden somewhere far from the ocean to throw the hunters off the scent. He tries to imagine what that would feel like to JJ, being away from the sea. The thought of having to stay away from mountains is disconcerting to Otabek, so JJ must feel the same way about the ocean. Otabek can go wherever he wants, but the mountains are where he feels like he can breathe. Even though the ground speaks to him wherever he is, it’s not the same as pressing his hands into a jagged rock surface and feeling the welcoming embrace of _home_.

He doesn’t know how the others stand it, the stench and the pressure and the suffocating feeling of too many people too close. But he knows they have to adapt, because they are fewer each day and the human population grows larger each day. They have to slip in between the cracks and live their lives unnoticed among the ever-growing population, or they have to vanish off the grid, like Otabek has done. But the spots to vanish to are growing few and far between, so the best bet is to live among the humans, hiding their true identity.

Once, they lived side by side with people, helping each other, but those days were gone before Otabek’s time. Hell, they were probably gone a few generations back. These days not many people even know about their existence. Otabek and his kind, they are a myth and a legend; a children’s tale from the mists of history.

Otabek thinks about checking into a bed & breakfast, but he doesn’t know if he has to make a quick escape with Yuri Plisetsky in tow, so he opts for keeping his stuff on him at all times. It’s early in the fall, not too cold for him to sleep outside. Otabek wanders around the city aimlessly, unsure where to start his search. He takes in the scents and sounds that were present all his youth but have been gone for the past few years, replaced by the scents and sounds of the forest and the mountains.

He steps into a park to sit down on the grass for a while. The feeling is not the same as having solid rock beneath him, but it’s something. He sits for a while, eyes closed and fingers digging into the roots of the grass, tasting the surroundings. He has no idea where to even begin searching for the missing _skogsrå_ , so he’s sitting there, hoping to find some answers beneath. He opens his eyes and watches people strolling past, his hand still digging into the ground.

There is no answer, or if there is, it’s so muffled through the disturbances in the ground that he can’t hear it.

Otabek releases his hand from the ground and smooths the grass roots back into place.

He tries to think like a _skogsrå_ , although he doesn’t know if it helps because the boy doesn’t know he is one. Where would a confused _skogsrå_ go after running away from foster care?

The sound of the police sirens startles Otabek from his thoughts. The sound is familiar but he hasn’t heard it in a long while. It brings back memories of high school, because the school he went to was right next to the fire station. Sirens were a common occurrence. Otabek pauses, because the wailing sound of emergency vehicles gives him an idea.

_Of course._

He can’t get into police archives to check for weird disturbances or incidents lately, but what he _can_ do is read the local news. If there is a messed-up teenage _skogsrå_ hiding somewhere, there’s probably some kind of a rise in local disturbances in the area.

Otabek goes into the library and asks for the local newspaper from the last three weeks. He also snatches a folded-up city map from the info stand next to the counter, and borrows a pen from the librarian. She hands him the pen without a second glance, and Otabek walks over to a table with his stack of newspapers, the map and the pen.

He starts from the oldest newspaper and checks if there are any mentions of any kind of odd incidents in the city area or nearby. The first three newspapers don’t yield any information, but the fourth one has something that seems promising.

 

**_Man found unconscious_ **

_A local man was found unconscious in an alley near the Norrskata railway station. Upon finding, his ears were bleeding and once conscious again he seemed incoherent and could not remember what had happened. So far there are no suspects. If you have any information about the incident, please report it to the police department number 010 333 2099._

 

Otabek unfolds the map in front of him and finds the mentioned railway station. He marks the place with an X and writes the date of the incident next to it.

The next seven newspapers reveal weird incidents on two different dates. One of them has gotten a bigger headline and a longer story, because apparently the victim had deceased in the hospital. Upon reading the whole story, it turns out there was a preexisting heart condition that probably played a role in the victim’s death, but coming across an angry _skogsrå_ unable to control his powers probably didn’t help.

Otabek wonders if Yuri Plisetsky is aggressive, or if these people have been aggressive toward him, because something must have prompted the use of his powers. And since he has zero control over what he is doing, the results can be read in the newspapers.

Otabek flicks through the rest of the newspapers, and once he’s done, he has a handful of stories of weird, unexplained incidents, all of which have happened within one particular area of the city. The marked spots on the map make a neat cluster in a part of town that’s close to the harbor, with a few outliers in other parts of the city. Otabek would bet his wad of cash that the area where the majority of the incidents have occurred is where Yuri Plisetsky is hiding. That at least narrows it down for him a little.

After reading the news, Otabek realizes that now it’s not only the ones who want to kill the _rå_ that are interested in finding out where Yuri is. There is someone dead and multiple injured, all in the same way within the same area, so that means the police are bound to be interested as well. Otabek curses to himself as he folds the newspapers and takes them back to the counter. So now there are three different search parties for Yuri Plisetsky: the ones who want him dead, the ones who want him arrested; and Otabek, a lone warden of the mountain who has no idea how he got roped into this mess.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) for her infinite patience and helpfulness and letting me cry and shout about this fic. Also thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) who screamed at me on chat and in emails and was just a wonderful and encouraging test audience.  
> -  
> The title refers to _de osynliga_ (Swedish), which literally means “the invisible ones”. In folklore, _de osynliga_ was used to refer to the beings (such as nature spirits, elves etc.) that one could encounter but most people never do.


	2. two

Otabek has been searching the neighborhood where the incidents happened for two days, and there is no sign of Yuri Plisetsky, aside from an occasional scent in the wind that lets Otabek know he is close. So close, and still so far from finding the missing kid. The stone and concrete around Otabek are quiet, offering nothing. There haven’t been new incidents either, at least concluding from the newspaper Otabek buys every morning just to check for that. All in all it looks like Yuri is very good at staying hidden.

On the second day, he’s starting to wonder if the _skogsrå_ has been captured or maybe arrested. Or maybe he’s moved on. Otabek walks around the neighborhood but he can’t sense anything. He is not sure if he can smell anything here but the tainted corrosion of the city. It feels like someone’s thrown a blanket over Otabek’s senses, and he wants nothing as much as to turn around and go back to his mountain.

Otabek stands on the slight hill above the harbor and watches the ships come and go. If Yuri has boarded one of the ships and left, there is no way Otabek will be able to find him.

He sits down on the rocky ledge of the hill and presses his hands against the stone surface. The indistinct hum is there, but it’s distorted by the tunnels and the electrical wiring underground.

Otabek sighs. He’s been putting this off in the hopes of finding Yuri himself, but he’s out of options, so he needs to enlist help.

He sits for a moment, gathering his thoughts with his hands pressing into the rock softly. He smiles a little when he gets up and sees that there is an imprint of his palm on the rock. It feels like a private joke.

Once he gets back to street level, he goes to find a sewer. Manholes are everywhere, but he needs to find one that is preferably not in the middle of a busy intersection. He finds one in a back alley and hooks his index finger into one of the holes in the cast iron cover. The covers have been designed to be too heavy for anyone to lift, but Otabek can pull the cover up just fine. He sets the cover aside and peers down, his eyes flashing black momentarily to see what waits below.

There is a ladder leading down, and Otabek glances around himself in the alley before hastily climbing down and pulling the cover haphazardly back to its original place

In the light filtering through the manhole cover, the sewage maintenance tunnel is bright as daylight to Otabek. He smells the air cautiously and listens to the hum around him. Sending any kind of coherent message is difficult to do here in the city, but he presses a hand into the concrete wall of the tunnel and sends a summons. It’s a careful invitation, not spread very wide, and for a good reason.

Otabek doesn’t want every rat in the city descending upon him because he called them.

When they arrive, there’s only five of them. One is a big fucker, almost the size of a cat, with mean beady eyes. The rest are smaller, almost like mice.

Otabek sits cross-legged on the floor of the tunnel and extends a hand. One by one the rats come over.

Talking to rats is not exactly his forte, and he smiles at the irony that Yuri would probably be better at this. Rats have inquisitive minds and they are helpful by nature, but the way they see the world is so different from humans that it’s a lot of work trying to interpret what they’re trying to explain. Otabek asks them about a _deity with scent of forest around him, here in the city, sunlight in his hair_ , and the rats behave like they understand what he is saying, but their chattering reply is like trying to understand a language Otabek has heard in passing but never paid much attention to.

One by one, Otabek sends them off in different directions, with the instructions to spread the word. It’s tedious, and it might not yield reliable results, but rats usually know what’s going on in their city. They can cover great distances in short times, moving quickly and efficiently underground and inside walls and floors.

If Yuri is still in the city, the rats will know. Now Otabek just has to hope he can interpret them correctly when they come back with the news.

It’s getting dark outside when he’s approached. Otabek hears the rustle and the quiet squeaks, and he turns to look at the newcomer. In the dark their eyes bear the same resemblance of black beads in their sockets. Otabek crouches down and offers his hand, and the small rat scrambles onto his palm. It starts chattering a mile a minute, and Otabek tries to keep up. He finds out that there is apparently a really good bakery just up the street, because there is a hole in the corner and always plenty to eat, which is nice to hear but not helpful at all.

Otabek sighs and tries again. _Skogsrå, here in the city, sun-kissed hair and scent of the forest?_

The chattering only grows faster. The rat is excited about helping, that much is clear, but it’s not very helpful to Otabek either if he can’t understand the stream of information poured his way.

He manages to extract two pieces of information from the rat. Apparently, Yuri is still in the city. And apparently, he is hiding somewhere in the harbor storage buildings. At least that’s what Otabek thinks the rat is trying to tell him, because it keeps referring to big things going away and sometimes there’s boxes full of bananas when they return.

Otabek digs his hoodie pocket for a bag of nuts and pours a small pile on his hand in front of the rat. He waits patiently until the rat has shoved every last bit of nuts into its mouth, and only then he lowers the animal to the ground. _Thank you._ He leaves his backpack in the tunnel, because it’s easier to move without it, and he doubts anyone will come here before morning to find it.

The happy chatter of the rat continues and then grows weaker as Otabek climbs up the ladder and pushes the cover out of the way to climb out into the darkening night.

Well, at least he didn’t have to ask the cockroaches, because that would have been a nightmare.

 

*

 

The harbor is quiet in the dead of the night. The gates are closed, but Otabek only needs a few moments to snap some chain links in the fence to make a hole that’s big enough for him to pass through. There is a cargo ship docked in the harbor, waiting to be loaded with crates in the morning, but for now the heavy machinery is still and quiet as Otabek makes his way around the harbor area. There are several old shipyard buildings still standing, with metal-coated slipways in the concrete leading from the water to the buildings, for small ships or boats to be pulled in for repairs. Otabek circles the buildings, trying to catch a whiff of the forest hiding underneath the salt and oil and rust.

When he finally catches the scent, several things happen at the same time. There is a sudden flash of light from one of the small windows high up the wall of one of the buildings, accompanied by the thunderous crack of a gunshot. Immediately after there is a muffled cry followed by a distinct thud that sounds like something heavy hitting the concrete floor inside the building.

Otabek rushes over to the building and bears around the corner in search of a door. When he locates one, he darts to the door and tears it open, not caring that he rips the lock and the hinges off in the process.

Otabek runs inside and is immediately hit by a strong scent of the forest and the sour tangy smell of blood. He weaves between the pillars and stops at the edge of the ship-repairing space in the middle; a wide concrete gutter that’s opening into the metal-coated slipway in one end where the massive wall-high doors are. There is some water and random trash lingering at the bottom of the groove.

Currently, there is something else lying in the pool-like dent in the floor. Otabek’s eyes catch the slight twitch of movement and he turns to look.

It’s not Yuri, because this looks like a burly older man, lying sprawled on the bottom of the ditch with a pool of blood spreading underneath him.

He’s not dead just yet, but Otabek can tell he will be in a matter of moments.

There is an audible gasp from above, and Otabek looks up to see a lonely figure standing there, looking down over the railing of one of the walkways circling the walls. He’s staring down at the man who has stopped moving, and Otabek puts two and two together. Otabek looks down again, and the gleam of the gun peeking from underneath the man is suddenly very prominent against the concrete floor and the still-spreading puddle of blood. He glances from Yuri Plisetsky to the man lying on the concrete, and if the self-inflicted gunshot didn’t do the job, the distance from where Yuri is standing to the floor is certainly enough to kill a man—if not instantly, then pretty soon anyway.

Yuri looks small and panicked, and Otabek can easily hear his ragged breathing despite the distance across the building.

His eyes have a residue of a yellow glow in them, but it’s diminishing by the second.

“Yuri?” Otabek asks in a low tone.

The boy startles, eyes flashing yellow again, and those glowing eyes turn to look at Otabek. Otabek knows Yuri can see him just as well as he can see Yuri.

“I’m here to help you,” Otabek says, stepping closer to the edge of the gap in the floor. The man lying below has stilled, the life in his wide-open eyes departed.

“Go away,” Yuri says in a broken tone. “He said the same, and then he tried to grab me. He had a gun—And now he’s there and he’s—I didn’t mean to—”

“I know you didn’t mean to,” Otabek assures. Yuri has no control, he is just protecting himself on instinct alone, and that’s always bound to get messy. Otabek looks down at the bloody mess again. _Well, looks like it already got messy_ , he thinks grimly. The man must be one of the people who are targeting non-humans. And if he’s there, that must mean that others are not far away.

“Yuri, listen to me. We have to get out of here,” Otabek says. “You’re in—”

He cuts himself off as he hears the noise. Otabek turns his head toward the door he ripped off its hinges coming inside, and sure enough, there are cautious footsteps approaching. They could be hitmen, they could be cops, but to Otabek it’s all the same. He has to get Yuri Plisetsky to follow him, and he has to get him out of here _now_.

Yuri is backing off from the railing, having heard the noise as well, and Otabek’s eyes flick over to where he is running. He sees the broken window Yuri is aiming for as Yuri dashes across the building on the rusty walkway.

Otabek doesn’t look back as he dashes across the building in the same direction Yuri is going. He has to run around the groove in the floor, and it slows him down, giving Yuri more time to make it to the window a few levels up. The rusty stairs are swaying as Otabek slams his hand on the railing to heave himself up faster, all the while listening to the noises from the direction of the door.

The _rå_ have a longer life expectancy than humans, but they bleed and die just like humans. Otabek knows the healing proficiency of his body is better than a human’s, but he doesn’t really care to test his body’s healing ability on a bullet.

Yuri Plisetsky is disappearing out the window as Otabek makes it to the window level. Otabek dashes over to the window, just to see Yuri hanging off a broken piece of ladder and then hoisting himself onto a roof of a smaller building below, over a gap that from up here looks too wide to jump across.

Otabek looks down at the handholds he has to use to get to Yuri and curses the _skogsrå_ ’s squirrel-like climbing abilities.

He hears the cocking sound before the flash of the gun lights up the inside of the building behind him. The first shot chinks off some nearby surface, and Otabek curses, heaving himself out the window without thinking. These folks are definitely not the police, because the police would point bright lights and shout warnings before shooting.

Otabek hangs off the rickety ladder, estimating the distance to the next building and to the ground. He can’t climb down the ladder because it’s broken off halfway down, so the only way out of this spot is to jump over to the next building and follow Yuri Plisetsky’s trail across the roof. Otabek is running out of time—he can hear the gunmen climbing the stairs inside the building he just climbed out of, so he jumps and manages to catch a hold of the edge of the roof he was aiming for. He pulls himself on the roof easily, but now there are more shots ringing from behind him through the window he climbed out of just moments ago. Otabek zig-zags across the roof, running to where he can see the end of a ladder poking above the edge. At least he has the advantage of seeing where he’s going in the darkness, but that doesn’t help him much if a stray bullet catches him in the leg.

The last shots whizz above his head as the climbs down the ladder on the other side of the smaller building.

Once Otabek drops on the ground, he crouches, feeling the gravel beneath with his hands. It’s like listening to an out-of-tune radio, but the ground thrums in response, letting him know there are footsteps retreating in one direction and several pairs of feet closing in from another. There is also a slight scent of pine needles hanging low in the air.

Otabek follows the solitary footsteps and the scent of the forest, hoping the gunmen won’t appear from behind the corner before he has time to disappear around another.

Yuri is running toward the water, Otabek realizes as he advances between the harbor buildings. He rounds a corner, hearing the footsteps closing in, and suddenly there’s a vast open space that leads to the sea, the scent of saltwater mixing with the scent of the forest. Otabek takes a quick account of where Yuri is headed, and comes to the conclusion that there is nothing but a plane of concrete and then the dark, still water of the harbor.

It’s a fucking death trap if there ever was one.

He sees Yuri now, running ahead like a scared deer, not looking where he is going. Yuri stops to hesitate when he realizes he has nowhere to go, and Otabek shouts across the space, “Keep moving!”

Yuri startles and resumes his running, right at the moment when Otabek can hear the sound of a gun cocking behind them. The edge is coming closer, Yuri is right in front of him, and before Yuri has time to react, Otabek slams into his back like a rock. They both plummet into the water at the same moment as the crack of another bullet leaving a gun slashes the air somewhere behind them.

The salt water stings, but despite that Otabek keeps his eyes open. They sink toward the bottom in a tangle of limbs, but before they can hit it, Yuri starts struggling back up. His flailing hand catches Otabek in the shoulder, and Yuri’s eyes fly open, glowing yellow in the murky water. Otabek grabs his arm in a manner he hopes is reassuring, and tugs him up toward the surface.

Swimming in combat boots is tedious and slow, and it feels like Otabek’s lungs are bursting before his head breaks the surface. Yuri’s head emerges from the water right after Otabek’s, gasping and coughing.

No time for recovery, Otabek realizes as he hears the sound of footsteps closing in from above. He kicks the water and tugs at Yuri, urging him to swim closer to the concrete edge so they’re harder to spot from above. He knows it’s just a momentary relief, though. The people above are bound to have flashlights, and they are going to point them into the water, and that’s going to be it for this _bergsrå_ and the _skogsrå_ he’s supposed to be helping. Otabek closes his eyes for a moment, hugging himself close to the concrete, slimy and covered in algae beneath the water’s surface. Beside him, Yuri is similarly clinging onto the concrete, bobbing up and down in the water, and Otabek hears his panicked breaths as they wait for bullets to start raining down on them.

Otabek hears sounds from above and he looks up, readying himself to dive below the surface with Yuri if someone looks down from the edge. He braces himself, waiting for the inevitable discovery, but it doesn’t come. There are no bullets coming at them, no one poking their head over the edge to spot them.

Instead, Otabek hears the distant sound of sirens coming closer, and the sound has never been as welcome as it is right now. _Someone called the police about the gunshots_. The flashing blue lights flicker above, reflecting off the cargo ship docked in the harbor, and this is the distraction Otabek knows they need. Let the police scare off the hunters after them.

“Come on,” he hisses, tugging at Yuri to swim along the edge of the dock. “We have to get out of here.” Otabek can feel the slimy algae beneath his hands as he pulls himself forward, his feet pretty uselessly treading water in his boots. Otabek feels the water cold and unmerciful all around him and he wishes JJ was here, because Otabek could use his help right about now. Every now and then Otabek glances back to see if Yuri is keeping up. Yuri’s eyes are still panicked and glowing yellow, and Otabek knows in the dark his eyes shine like black beads, but right now there’s no time for any explanations.

The smooth concrete edge of the harbor dock seems to continue forever with no possibility for climbing up. Otabek feels his shoes and clothes heavy on him, and he glances back. Yuri is probably struggling more with the added weight of his clothing and his backpack, and he doesn’t even have the strength of a _bergsrå_ at his disposal. Otabek fixes his eyes ahead, and he spots an opening ahead in the concrete.

It’s a storm drain outlet, and Otabek has never been happier to see a damn sewer in his life.

He turns to Yuri. “A little bit more,” he asserts quickly and tugs the blond kid along. Yuri looks tired, and Otabek pushes him ahead and keeps himself behind, in case Yuri goes under. “Keep swimming. There, you see the drain up there?” He points over Yuri’s shoulder toward the looming hole in the concrete. Yuri nods and pushes onward.

The sirens have been silenced, but the flicker of the blue lights is still visible and there is some kind of a commotion going on above their heads on the shipyard. Someone fires a gun and Yuri flinches visibly, momentarily sinking deeper into the water. Otabek pushes him onward, because these shots are not aimed at them. But they might be soon, and he wants to be out of the water before that happens.

“A bit more, Yuri, go on,” Otabek urges, and the boy tugs himself along the edge of the dock, fingers gripping into the slimy tendrils of the algae.

It seems like it takes hours for them to get to the drain outlet, even though in reality it’s probably less than two minutes. Otabek listens to the sounds from above, and it seems like the police have the harbor surrounded and are now trying to hunt down the shooters between the buildings.

The drain outlet is above the water level, and Otabek has to push Yuri so he can climb in. Once Yuri has crawled into the drain, Otabek plants two hands on the edge of the outlet and pulls himself up easily. He doesn’t feel very tired, but Yuri Plisetsky looks like he’s on the verge of collapsing. He’s crawled a little way up the drain and now he’s lying in a heap at the bottom of the drain pipe, dripping water around him and breaths coming in ragged bursts. The yellow glow in his eyes is still present, but it looks dull and tired like the rest of him.

“What—what’s going on?” Yuri asks, his voice raspy and breathless. “Who were those people? And who are you?” His eyes lock on Otabek’s, still fully black in the darkness, and Otabek sees the scared rise of his eyebrows. “ _What_ are you?”

Otabek closes his eyes for a moment and concentrates on distinguishing the sounds from above. They sound like they’re advancing farther away from them, so perhaps there is time for some brief explanations. Otabek crawls a bit closer to Yuri in the drain.

Yuri scrambles to his knees and retreats before Otabek gets close.

“Yuri, I’m not going to hurt you,” Otabek says.

“How do you know my name?” Yuri asks, still backing away in the narrow space. He leaves a trail of water at the bottom of the drain pipe as he advances.

Otabek stops and lifts his hands as if in surrender. “I’m not going to come any closer, can you stop for a second?”

Yuri eyes him warily and hesitantly stops crawling deeper into the drain. His clothes are dripping water and his backpack is sloshing on his shoulders by the straps. The water is forming a small puddle around Yuri’s slight frame as he sits defensively and seemingly waits for Otabek to say something.

Otabek sighs. “My name is Otabek,” he says. “I was sent to find you and help you.”

“Sent?” Yuri asks. “Sent by who?”

This is so not the time to discuss the Agency and their doings, so Otabek simplifies it a little. “By people who wanted to save you from getting killed by those people who fired guns at us just minutes ago.”

Yuri’s eyes are wide and the yellow glow is almost gone. He pushes a wet strand of hair off his face. “Oh,” he says. “But who were those people? The ones who tried to kill me?”

Otabek lets out a long exhale. “I have no idea.”

Yuri pulls his knees to his chest, and even in the cramped space he looks small and scared. “Why me, though?” Otabek hears him ask as if to himself.

Otabek scratches the back of his neck and extracts some algae from his hair. “That’s, uh. A long story?” he offers, because there is no way he’s going to explain to a terrified _skogsrå_ what he is in a space this small. “One we can maybe get into once we’re out of the sewers?”

Yuri’s eyes flash toward Otabek for a second, but then he nods slowly. “You still didn’t answer my question,” he points out.

Otabek spreads his hands in confusion. “Which one? There were like several in the span of a minute.”

Yuri squints at him, and there is a defensive flash in his eyes. “I asked what are you,” he says.

“Also a long story that can wait until we’re out of the sewers,” Otabek says with emphasis. He nods toward the drain pipe behind Yuri. “Do you want to lead the way or should I?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) for her infinite patience and helpfulness and letting me cry and shout about this fic. Also thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) who screamed at me on chat and in emails and was just a wonderful and encouraging test audience.


	3. three

They crawl through the storm drain system on all fours until they get to a spot where the outlet joins a larger drain pipe. The bottom of the larger pipe is lower than the outlet, and there is a good amount of water in the pipe. Otabek sighs, deciding it’s not worth the hassle to take his shoes off because they’re dripping wet to begin with. Yuri makes disgruntled noises behind Otabek as they wade through the grimy, knee-deep mess of water, fallen leaves and trash.

Eventually, they get to a spot where there’s a ladder leading up. Yuri goes to grab the first rung above his head, but Otabek halts him with a hand on his arm. “I’ll go first. We don’t know where we are.” That, and Otabek is also fairly sure that Yuri doesn’t have the strength to lift the manhole cover looming above.

Yuri looks like he wants to argue, but in the end he allows Otabek to climb up the ladder first.

Otabek cracks the heavy manhole cover open just a bit to see where they are. He peers at the surrounding area and listens to any sounds from nearby.

Once he’s satisfied that there is no immediate threat, he pushes the cover all the way off and climbs through.

Yuri climbs out after him and Otabek pushes the cover back in place.

They’re standing in the middle of a street, in between tall buildings a little way off the harbor. Otabek can still smell the salt and oil from the docks, so he heads in the opposite direction. After a few steps he stops, because Yuri is not following him. Instead, he’s walking toward the street that goes parallel to the harbor and way too close to the spot where they just escaped from.

“Yuri?” Otabek asks.

Yuri stops and turns. “Thanks for saving me,” he says in a strained voice. “Now we can go our separate ways.”

“You’re still in danger,” Otabek says, taking a step closer. Yuri looks like he’s about to bolt, though, and Otabek doesn’t want to chase after him for the second time in one night, so he stops. Perhaps he needs to try a different approach. “Besides, don’t you want to know what’s going on?”

There is a flash of curiosity in Yuri’s eyes, but his jaw is set stubbornly and Otabek realizes with a sigh that he definitely has the temperament of a _skogsrå_.

“Stay with me just until I can make sure you’re not in danger anymore, and I’ll tell you everything I know,” Otabek suggests.

Yuri’s eyes flick from Otabek to the nearby building walls and then back to Otabek. He adjusts the still-wet backpack on his shoulders. “ _Fine_ ,” he says, eyes flashing yellow.

He’s going to have to learn to control the eyes, Otabek decides. Otherwise, with that temperament, he’s going to freak out every human he meets. Otabek can’t for the life of him understand how this piece of work has managed to _‘fly under the radar’_ and evade being discovered by the Agency, because with no training he’s highly unpredictable and has already caused a lot of damage; even death.

Otabek glances at Yuri, and wonders if he should talk about the death of the gunman at the shipyard building. Because knowing what Yuri is capable of, the only explanation is that Yuri unknowingly made the man turn his gun on himself.

He recalls Yuri’s words right after the incident: _I didn’t mean to_.

Otabek knows Yuri might be unpredictable, but he’s not uncaring or vengeful. He seemed shocked by the death of the man, even though the man pulled a gun on him. Yuri must have acted on instinct when threatened, and the end result was the bloody mess at the bottom of the concrete groove.

Otabek really hopes Yuri is willing to listen to him, because if he doesn’t learn to control his power, who knows what could happen? He might end up hurting more people, even killing more people.

He might end up killing himself.

 

*

 

They walk along the quiet side streets to where Otabek left his backpack. The harbor neighborhood is quiet in the nighttime, but Otabek can hear traffic and sounds of life from the downtown area. Otabek’s clothes are slowly drying, but they still feel damp and cold and they cling onto his skin. His shoes make a slurping noise on each step. Yuri’s hair is hanging around his shoulders in a tangled mess and his clothes are hanging on him in a damp mess, but at least his backpack has stopped dripping water. Yuri holds the backpack in his hands as he walks. He rummages through whatever is inside, cursing to himself as obviously not all of the contents of the backpack have survived the saltwater treatment. He discards a mushy-looking brown paper bag and some other items from inside the bag, dumping them on the street. Otabek glares at the pile of trash but doesn’t lecture Yuri about it. Right now, he needs to keep quiet so Yuri doesn’t run off in a huff and get himself in an even worse situation than the one they just escaped from.

Yuri startles at every noise around them, his eyes darting here and there in a flash of yellow. Otabek can’t really blame him. He himself is listening and smelling the surroundings as they advance, trying to decipher any possible danger from the cacophony of sensory input that is the city.

When they get to the manhole leading down to where Otabek left his backpack and climb down, Otabek pulls the cover back on after them. He figures this underground spot is just as good for explanations and resting as any.

Yuri leans on the closest wall and slides into a sitting position as soon as his feet touch the floor. He leans his head back and closes his eyes, running one hand through his hair. In the darkness of the tunnel, Otabek studies the _skogsrå_ he has managed to keep alive so far. A messy head of blond hair down past his shoulders, eyes that are forest green when they are not flashing angry yellow, and a lithe body befitting the mythical image of a _skogsrå_.

He might be the last one in this part of the world, now that Celestino is gone.

Yuri opens his eyes and blinks. The yellow glow in his eyes is gone, and he looks around himself, blinking blindly. “Why can’t I see anymore?” he asks, panic clear in his tone.

“Because you don’t know how to control your eyes,” Otabek says, crouching down beside his backpack. Yuri seems to function on instincts, and he has no conscious control over any of his powers. “You need to learn control, if you want to stay alive and keep yourself from accidentally hurting others.”

Yuri flinches at the last words, and Otabek doesn’t have to be psychic to know his thoughts are on the man lying dead in a concrete dent in an abandoned shipyard building. Yuri sits tensely against the wall, his head turned to the direction of the sound of Otabek’s voice. “What are you talking about?” he asks, voice strained and hoarse.

Otabek pulls a box of matches out of the side pocket of his backpack and lights one, turning toward Yuri with a yellow flicker of a flame between his fingers. Otabek knows the exact moment when Yuri sees Otabek’s eyes in the light of the small flame, because his breath hitches audibly.

“You are not human, Yuri,” Otabek says slowly in a soft tone. “And neither am I, as you have probably guessed.”

Yuri swallows and his eyes stare into Otabek’s. There is a rising flush of panic, so strong that Otabek can smell it on him. It’s an influx of forest scents right after the rain, mixed with the salt water on Yuri’s clothes and skin. His eyes start glowing again, and Otabek sighs. “First lesson: I’m going to douse this match, and I guarantee you can see again in the dark. Just try to hold on to that feeling. You only seem to be able to do that when you’re scared for now.”

“I am not scared,” Yuri says defensively, tilting his jaw up.

Otabek huffs out a laugh and smothers the flame by pinching it between two fingers. The light disappears but Yuri’s eyes are still glowing faintly. “See, that’s what you’re aiming for,” Otabek mutters in a low tone and smiles.

Yuri blinks and opens his mouth, but no words come out.

Otabek backs away to his backpack again. When he lifts it from the ground, a small squeaking sound makes him laugh. “Oh, hello,” Otabek says to the rat who told him where to find Yuri. “Were you guarding my backpack?”

The rat chatters happily to him, snuffling his extended hand. Otabek understands it wants more nuts. “Clever little bastard, hanging around and waiting for more treats,” he says, searching for the bag of nuts that was in his hoodie pocket. He hears Yuri gasp behind him, but pays no attention because he can hear Yuri isn’t moving away, only shifting and breathing raggedly.

The bag of nuts is not there anymore. Of course it isn’t; falling into the water and swimming around has probably flushed it right out of the loose front pocket of the hoodie.

“Sorry,” Otabek says. “I don’t have any more nuts. Let me see if I can find something else.” He digs around the backpack and manages to find an expired muesli bar. He peels the wrapper off and offers the bar to the rat.

The happy chattering only grows louder, and Otabek has difficulties keeping up. He only catches that the rat has named him friend and will be forever in his service if needed.

“Well, that’s nice to hear, but you can run along now,” Otabek muses, and the rat scurries off, dragging along a muesli bar that’s almost half its size. Otabek smiles as he watches the rat disappear behind a bend of the tunnel.

When Otabek turns his attention back to Yuri, his eyes are still faintly yellow and he’s staring in the direction where the rat disappeared.

“Did you just talk to a rat?” he asks incredulously.

Otabek shrugs. “Did you happen to catch what it said?” he asks nonchalantly, trying to determine if Yuri is at all tuned in to his _skogsrå_ nature.

Yuri shakes his head slowly. “Should I have?”

Otabek sighs. The training is going to be an _experience_ for sure. Yuri has seemingly subconsciously repressed all his instincts so they only surface in extreme situations. It’s going to be a fucking minefield trying to break down the walls Yuri has built around himself to protect his mind from things he can’t understand or explain.

They have to get out of the city. Otabek wishes that once he manages to get Yuri into the forest he will just fall in tune with nature and everything will sort itself out. He has a looming feeling that it’s not going to be that easy, though.

Why on earth did Victor ask him to help Yuri? Otabek knows next to nothing about _skogsrå_ power awakening. He’d be okay with a saltwater _havsrå_ , having hung out with JJ a lot in his youth, but the ones belonging to the forest are just one big question mark in Otabek’s mind.

Of course he knew of Celestino, like he knows of all the _rå_ in the area, but he never met the man in person. They all live their separate lives, vaguely aware of each other but not really crossing paths, aside from the ones who work with the Agency.

Maybe it’s time for the _rå_ to come together and get to know each other so they can join forces in fighting the people who are targeting them. Separately they are easier targets, but together they might survive. Perhaps they could form their own agency of sorts, one that has more focus on the wellbeing of the _rå_ and less focus on keeping tabs on them just for surveillance.

Otabek shakes his head and stores the idea somewhere in the back of his mind for now. It’s an idea that needs some consideration, but right now he has more pressing matters in his hands.

Like one very repressed _skogsrå_ who is currently clawing at the walls blindly, having lost control over his eyes again.

Otabek sighs. “Maybe we should get out of the tunnel?”

Yuri scoffs. “You _think_?”

Once they’re back on street level, Yuri turns to face Otabek with his jaw set firmly. “Look, I don’t know what is going on, but I don’t really care. I just want to live my life and—”

“Not be targeted by gunmen?” Otabek suggests sweetly, looking up at the lonely streetlight above. He gradually allows his pupils to shrink so his eyes look nearly human when he looks at Yuri again.

“Why would I be their target?” Yuri argues.

“Because you’re not human,” Otabek repeats his earlier assessment.

“I don’t know what you think I am, but I’m not… _that_ ,” Yuri says icily.

Otabek suppresses a sigh and turns to look around himself on the street. He bends down to pick a few pieces of gravel next to the curb and holds one out. “Here.”

Yuri takes the small piece of rock hesitantly. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Try to break it,” Otabek says with a curt nod.

Yuri looks like he might throw the stone at Otabek’s face instead.

“Just try it,” Otabek says. “With your bare hands,” he clarifies when Yuri starts looking for something to use as a hammer.

Yuri scoffs. “But that’s impossible.”

Otabek offers him an amused half-smile. “I’ll make you a deal. You manage to break that, you can go wherever you want and I won’t bother you anymore.”

Yuri looks at Otabek like he’s insane, but before he has time to say anything, Otabek adds, “But if I manage to break mine, you’re going to come with me and listen to what I have to say. Deal?”

Yuri squirms. He casts a suspicious glance at Otabek like there is some kind of trick here.

Otabek smiles dryly. There kind of is.

He watches Yuri try to break the stone in halves with his fingers, clawing uselessly at the tiny rock’s surface. Finally he curses and tosses the piece of gravel to the ground, where it bounces and lands on the sidewalk and bounces a few times more with a small tapping sound.

“Well, you break yours then,” Yuri spits when he sees the smile tugging at Otabek’s lips.

Otabek takes the piece of gravel and holds one end of it carefully between his thumb and index finger. Then he pinches the other half with the thumb and index finger of his free hand. Otabek concentrates on the stone, feeling the molecules shift under his touch, and the small rock breaks neatly in half.

Yuri stares.

There is a moment of tense silence, and then Yuri scoffs. “Cheater.”

Otabek raises one eyebrow. “How could I possibly cheat? You saw it with your own eyes.” _Even if they’re kind of useless because you can’t control them_ , he doesn’t add. The streetlight is bright enough that Yuri can’t claim he didn’t see what happened.

“It was probably already breaking in half on its own,” Yuri reasons. “Or it was two separate stones to begin with and you just held them together in a way that made it look like they were one.”

Otabek rolls his eyes toward the sky that is already beginning to lighten in anticipation of the approaching dawn. They should be well on their way out of the city by now, but instead they stand here, arguing and doubting and scoffing at each other.

“Fine,” Otabek says once he has the dark sensation of anger under control. “You pick a piece of gravel. I’ll do it again.”

Yuri eyes him skeptically, but he crouches down in search of a small stone. Otabek watches him as he bends down to scrape in the cracks in the asphalt. Yuri’s hair is still a mess and his clothes have seen better days. He’s wearing black jeans and a hooded parka coat with a fur lining that in the wake of the harbor’s salt water looks a little sad. It looks like Yuri has planned to stay hidden if he’s already wearing winter clothes in the early days of fall.

Yuri straightens and hands Otabek a piece of gravel, barely big enough to even be grabbed with more than two fingers. “There,” Yuri says, eyes flashing a tiny yellow glow before settling back into their usual state of green.

Otabek scoffs at the piece of rock. Instead of holding it between his fingers he sets it on the palm of his hand, keeping the palm open. He holds his hand at eye level so he can see Yuri watching intently as he feels the stone. Smooth planes, jagged edges, he feels the bind between the molecules and he pleads for it to come undone. As he’s probing, he deliberately allows his eyes to glaze over in black for effect.

Smaller rocks are easier than mountains, so it’s only a few seconds before the rock unceremoniously dissolves into fine dust on his palm.

He hears the surprised gasp from Yuri, and Otabek looks at him, eyes still black and beady. He makes sure he holds Yuri’s gaze as he blows the rock dust off his hand and his eyes slowly return to their near-human state. Yuri swallows audibly.

Otabek allows himself a sensation of grim satisfaction. Perhaps Yuri will listen to him now.

“Is—is that what my eyes do?” Yuri asks in a voice that suddenly sounds a lot smaller than before.

Otabek smiles. In this situation, even mild curiosity is one step forward. “No,” he says. “Yours glow yellow, like a cat’s.”

Yuri brushes his fingertips below his right eye, blinking. “No way,” he says as if to himself.

He sounds awed in a way that indicates he thinks it’s _really fucking cool_ that his eyes do that. Otabek takes that as a positive sign.

Perhaps Yuri is not completely hopeless and lost to his repression.

“Oh, and you can’t actually break rocks like I do,” Otabek confesses with a grin.

Yuri’s mouth falls open. “So you _were_ cheating, you asshole,” he sputters, eyes flashing dangerously.

“I wasn’t cheating in my abilities to do that,” Otabek denies. “But I knew _you_ couldn’t do that.”

Yuri inhales and exhales in an angry huff. He switches his weight from one foot to the other, crossing his arms over his chest and generally trying to embody all possible signs of annoyance.

Otabek waits.

About thirty seconds later Yuri asks, “Well, what _can_ I do, then?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open! If you enjoy this story, please let me know in the comments! Even though this is a finished story, [I still get discouraged when I don't get feedback...](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/post/167304925979/tfw-you-start-posting-a-chaptered-fic-and-you-tell)  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta/cheerleader squad: [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com). ♥


	4. four

“Your hair’s cut unevenly at the back,” Yuri points out with a bite to his tone as he walks behind Otabek on the narrow path in the forest.

“Yeah? You try to cut your own hair in a cave with no light and a pair of dull scissors,” Otabek shoots back. He glances at Yuri over his shoulder, hoping for an indication that Yuri is somehow acknowledging that he is in a forest and realizing it’s where he belongs. So far there is no sign of that happening; if anything, the city-raised teenager complains about having to wander around in a forest.

Otabek momentarily closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Yuri is quiet for a moment. “I mean… I could help cut it more even, if you wanted?” he then suggests.

It’s a small offer, but it’s better than nothing.

Otabek stops on the narrow hiking trail and turns around to face Yuri. “That would be nice,” he says. Yuri is watching him with his piercingly green eyes and biting his lip, and Otabek hastily turns around and continues along the path.

After the initial shock and awe, Yuri has done nothing but grumbled since they left the city. So, this offer to help cut Otabek’s hair is definitely a small step in a better direction. Yuri hissed and spat and generally just behaved like an irritated lynx when Otabek explained to him evenly that he had no intention of telling Yuri about his powers in the city, because if Yuri knew what he was capable of, he would start testing it out, and in the city it would pose a huge risk of exposure and also a risk to all the people around.

They tried to gather some supplies discreetly in the city, even though it was difficult to be discreet when their clothes were salt-crusted from sea water and their hair dirty and tangled after going unwashed for days. Yuri grumbled even more when he realized they were going to a place with no electricity and no heating.

Otabek managed to keep Yuri around by offering him a few very brief explanations about his own skillset. Mainly it was to awaken Yuri’s curiosity about his own nature, but Yuri listened, wide-eyed, when Otabek explained he is connected to the ground and he feels at home enclosed between rock walls on all sides, and that he is stronger than any human could hope to achieve and sometimes the earth grants him what he wants, like passage or shelter. From his training he knows _not_ to ask for things the earth doesn’t want to grant, though. He’s heard the stories of _rå_ who exploited their power and asked for too much.

They’re halfway between the edge of the forest and the mountain. Otabek figures it doesn’t matter _where_ in the forest they do the training, and if they’re close enough the mountain they can seek shelter in case someone comes looking for them. Plus, he really just wants to go home and press his palms against the smooth rock surface welcoming him.

Otabek stops when he realizes Yuri’s footsteps are not following him anymore.

He turns around on the path and sees Yuri standing in the midst of the lingonberries dappling the scenery in red, looking around himself as if he’s just now realizing where he is. Yuri watches his surroundings, awed, and Otabek watches _him_ , awed.

It’s amazing how Yuri can simultaneously look like he absolutely belongs in the forest and like he has nothing at all to do with it.

Yuri’s eyes wander over the branches of the trees, following a bird zooming past and then landing on Otabek. There is a hint of yellow around his pupils, but it looks nothing like the constant panicked reaction of the past few days. Yuri looks at the surroundings like he’s surprised how much he likes the scenery. Otabek smiles. Perhaps Yuri is finally opening up, tuning into his nature.

It only lasts for a moment.

Then suddenly, like someone flipped a switch, Yuri’s momentarily so calm expression is overcome once again by a rising sense of panic, and Otabek steps closer hesitantly. Yuri’s eyes flash yellow as he looks around and wraps his arms around protectively around his middle. It looks like he’s curling up into himself as if he’s being attacked from all sides at once. Otabek furrows his brow and stops a few steps away from Yuri, unsure if he should approach.

Otabek thinks he knows what is happening right now, even though he can’t be sure. But it makes sense, because for a moment it looked like Yuri was opening up, and judging from Yuri’s reaction the forest probably reached out to him in response, happy to feel the presence of one of its own. Only it may have been too much too soon. To Yuri the forest’s eternal voices are bound to be an information overload; the trees, the animals, the slight wind, _everything_ around him suddenly calling out to him when he’s not used to it. Otabek can only imagine what kind of a crushing sensation it is to encounter one’s true nature after years of stubbornly pushing it back.

Yuri lets out a broken sob and sways, clapping his hands over his ears. “Make it stop,” he says in a small voice.

“Yuri,” Otabek tries, stepping closer and lowering a hand on Yuri’s arm to steady him. “It’s okay. Don’t fight it.”

“Make it _stop_ ,” Yuri says again, and his face is contorted in an expression of such pain that Otabek considers that maybe they should take a break from the forest and start off easier. But they’re already so far from the forest’s edge that it would be tedious to hike back now. Especially with Yuri like this.

“Yuri, look at me,” Otabek says like he’s talking to a panicking animal. “Let it happen. It’s the forest, it’s trying to reach out to you.”

“No! I don’t want it!” Yuri wails in a voice that’s high-pitched and pained. He looks around, as if the trees are responsible for his sensations. “Just leave me the fuck alone!” he shouts, eyes darting here and there between the trees.

Otabek’s hand is still on Yuri’s arm, and Yuri’s gaze lands on it. Yuri screams, shaking Otabek off his arm and flailing his arms around his head like he’s swatting at a swarm of mosquitoes, smacking Otabek on the shoulder in the process. Then, without warning, Yuri’s eyes light up like a pair of angry flames and Otabek feels the blunt edge of Yuri’s power hitting him in full force for the first time.

He knew it would be an inevitable part of the training. To get Yuri to display the extent of his powers Otabek is going to have be at the receiving end at some point. He thought he was prepared, knew what to expect, but it’s worse than he imagined by a tenfold.

Suddenly the even hum of the forest is replaced by a screeching noise inside Otabek’s head—a noise that keeps intensifying. It feels like his brain is full of static and it makes him want to rupture his eardrums just so he can make the noise stop—only the noise is not coming from outside. It’s _inside_ his brain. The noise keeps amplifying to the point that Otabek feels sweat gathering at his temples, and it keeps growing in intensity. His muscles seem to lose their ability to keep him upright, and Otabek realizes he’s growling in a high-pitched tone of a wounded animal, only he himself can’t hear it through the noise overtaking his brain.

Otabek holds his head and sinks to his knees in the lingonberry shrubs, panting as the screeching seems to drill holes into his auditory cortex. He leans forward until his face comes in contact with his thighs, essentially folding himself up as small as he possibly can, as if that would help shut out the pain. “Yuri,” he gasps, staring at the fabric of his jeans. He can’t properly hear his own voice through the screeching noise and the pain. “Please, you’re hurting me.”

Even through the red haze of pain Otabek knows that if he tells Yuri to control himself, Yuri only gets angrier, which will only make this worse. So he’s trying a different approach. He tries to appeal to the side of Yuri that doesn’t want to hurt anyone.

Otabek looks up from where he’s on his knees in the moss, surrounded by short shrubs of waxy lingonberry leaves. The screeching in his head remains unchanged, and it’s beginning to make him see black dots that dance around him. He’s pretty sure his eyes glaze over in black, but in the spasms of pain he has no control over it. The forest flickers in and out of view, and Otabek feels another groan rip out of his throat. He lowers his head onto his knees again and gasps for air.

“ _Please_.” Otabek looks up desperately as he feels his mind starting to shut down. He’s slipping out of consciousness, and Yuri needs to stop right now before that happens. That or something worse.

Yuri falters, hesitates. The glow in his eyes diminishes and he steps back, seemingly unsure about what he should do.

The noise gradually vanishes and little by little Otabek can hear the hum of the forest around him again. A bird sings somewhere, and the calm stillness of the autumn forest is a complete opposite of what Otabek is currently feeling. He straightens his back in his kneeling position, hands still on his head, unsure if Yuri has got it under control. When the dots disappear from Otabek’s field of vision he risks a glance at Yuri, whose eyes are more green than yellow. _He looks scared_ , Otabek realizes, before he has to lean forward, gagging.

The static noise Yuri can inflict in a person’s head is just at that annoying frequency that makes one’s stomach turn violently. Otabek lowers his hands from his temples as he leans forward, dry-heaving and gagging on the lingonberry shrubs even though nothing comes out. He spits on the ground anyway, trying to get the dry-heaving to stop.

Yuri stands a little distance away, shifting here and there as Otabek tries to will his stomach to stop cramping.

“Dammit, you really have no idea what you can do with your powers,” Otabek grumbles when he sits back up, because his head is ringing like someone just clanged several massive church bells inside it and if he was human his ears would be bleeding right now. Hell, his _brain_ would probably be bleeding right now. As it is, Otabek might get away with a nasty headache.

“I don’t even know what I did,” Yuri says uncertainly. “I didn’t mean—”

Yuri suddenly sits down in the middle of lingonberries, shaken. He rakes a hand through his tangled hair and sits there, breathing unevenly and blinking at the red berries.

For a moment they both just sit there and the trees hum around them. Otabek absently picks a few lingonberries and puts them in his mouth. The sharp bitterness of the berry juice seems to help with the slight bout of nausea still lingering in his stomach, so Otabek picks a few more and eats them slowly, savoring the taste.

Yuri is sitting still and staring at his hands as he twists them on his lap. Otabek considers tossing a lingonberry at him, but before he can do that, Yuri looks up. His eyes lock onto Otabek’s and he is biting his lip. Despite the headache and nausea, Otabek nearly chokes on the lingonberry he’s currently in the process of swallowing as his breath hitches. Yuri’s subconscious expression, in all its innocence, looks downright sinful.

Otabek watches the _skogsrå_ ’s power working through him again without him even noticing it. The transformation is amazing, because one moment he is screeching angrily inside Otabek’s head and the next he’s biting his lip and looking at Otabek through his lashes, and he doesn’t even _realize_ what he is doing.

Otabek tilts his head, trying to shake the residual feeling of being sick. “Well, now you can perhaps see why we didn’t start the training in the city,” he says. “What you, and the rest of the _skogsrå_ have are mental powers. Like, if you’re threatened you can sort of… shout at the person inside their head. That’s what you just did to me. And you can… make people _do things_.” He makes a vague gesture with his hand, not wanting to bring up the guy at the shipyard building; the one Yuri _made_ shoot himself.

Otabek is so bad at explaining this, because he doesn’t know everything about the power manifestations of the _skogsrå_. He knows the general gist of them—mind control and ability to cause pain—and there is a third kind of mental power, one that’s coursing through Yuri right now. The one the _skogsrå_ are known for. As he looks at Yuri again, Otabek realizes in a flash it’s the reason why he’s been feeling weird around Yuri at times. He means to just glance at Yuri hastily, but instead he gets stuck staring into the eyes that right now are a striking shade of a pine forest green. Otabek swallows. “Oh. And, um, seduction.”

Yuri startles at the last word. “What?”

Otabek exhales a long breath. How is he going to explain this to an already freaked-out _skogsrå_? “You haven’t noticed it? How people are drawn to you?”

Yuri shrugs. “I thought it’s like that for everybody.”

Otabek shakes his head and finally manages to clamber to his feet from the forest floor again. He dusts his clothes, even though it does little to improve the state of the already dirty and salt-stiffened fabric. He pointedly looks away from Yuri. “Definitely not. You’re subconsciously calling them in, like you are calling _me_ in right now. If I was human I couldn’t resist you.” He finds it difficult to resist even when he knows what’s happening, so those poor fuckers don’t stand a chance.

From the corner of his eye, Otabek sees Yuri slap a hand over his mouth. “I’m _what_?” he asks through his fingers, sounding terrified. “What am I doing? How can I _stop_ it?”

The tug of Yuri’s powers diminishes as he panics, but it’s still there, bubbling under the surface.

“Calm down, I’m not going to jump you,” Otabek says. “But you really need to learn to recognize when you’re doing that,” he mutters more to himself. Otabek swallows, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. First the psychic pain and now _this_. Otabek sighs and closes the gap between them in a few strides, offering Yuri a hand to pull him up.

Yuri takes the offered hand hesitantly and Otabek pulls him up from the lingonberry shrubs. “Are you okay?” Otabek asks, studying Yuri’s features.

Yuri is quiet for a second, like he has to tune in to his body to see how he feels. “Tired,” he then says with a shrug. “Like I’ve just run a marathon.”

“Mental powers take their toll, just like physical ones,” Otabek says with a nod. He looks around and realizes there is no way they are going to make it to the mountain before nightfall, and with Yuri still unable to control his eyes, a nighttime hike is out of the question.

“We’ll walk a little bit ahead and make camp for the night,” Otabek decides and continues along the undergrowth, motioning Yuri to follow.

Yuri has seemingly burned up all his energy for the day, because he follows Otabek obediently without any of his usual sass. If Otabek recalls correctly, there is a slight hill ahead and they can get at least shelter from the wind on the other side. Otabek doesn’t feel much cold so he knows he’ll be fine, but Yuri kind of looks like he needs seven blankets and a campfire.

“Why seduction, though?” Yuri asks as they advance deeper into the wilderness. “It seems like such a fucking random thing in addition to psychic pain and making people do… _things_.” His voice falters a little in the end, and Otabek knows one of these days they have to talk about what happened to the man in the shipyard building, and what happened to those other people who were found delusional and with bleeding ears near the harbor.

Otabek clicks his tongue thoughtfully against the roof of his mouth. “Well,” he says after a moment. “Maybe it’s not so different. Because in a way you’re also making people do something with that. You’re making them fall for you.”

Yuri lets out a groan that sounds like he’s embarrassed. “It’s so stupid, though,” he continues. “Why would _that_ be useful?”

This is probably not the time or place for a heritage lesson, but then again, there is no perfect time or place for a heritage lesson, so this will have to do.

“The survival of the bloodline,” Otabek says, looking far ahead at the mountain rising from the sea of trees as he repeats his mentor’s words to Yuri. “The _rå_ have mixed bloodlines with humans for centuries, ever since our numbers began dwindling. It’s a way of adapting to the surrounding environment.”

“Like evolution?” Yuri asks.

“Something like that.” Otabek doesn’t know when or how the _skogsrå_ adapted their mental powers toward seduction, but it’s been so long that even the mythology books talking about them mention that they were known for seducing travelers and leading them deep into the forest, never to be seen again. “I mean, you know how the mountain trolls are described in children’s stories—ugly, hairy, stone-like bulks of meat?”

He glances over his shoulder and sees Yuri nodding.

“Well, I’ve come quite a distance away from the image of my _bergsrå_ ancestors, don’t you think?” Otabek allows himself a small smile when Yuri’s mouth drops open.

“You’re a—a _troll_?” Yuri finally manages. He sounds amused in a delighted way, like this is going to be the punchline of all the jabs aimed at Otabek from this on.

Otabek aims him an even stare glazed in black, then shrugs and turns to look ahead again.

“My ancestors were something that is described as _trolls_ in the books. As for myself, I’m probably more human at this point…” Otabek trails off. He sometimes wonders what kind of powers his ancestors held, and if his own are but a pale ghost of what the powers of the _rå_ used to be, before the blood got diluted with human components.

Yuri walks behind him in silence for a while. “So wait, if your kind bred with humans, but you don’t have mental powers, then your ancestors—what, asked for a _skogsrå_ to seduce a human for them and then kept them for breeding?” His voice sounds slightly disgusted. “That’s kind of twisted.”

Otabek stops and turns to face Yuri once more. “Every species does what it needs to do to survive. And even though I don’t defend my ancestors’ rapey behavior, I’m also not responsible for it.”

Otabek turns to lead them on between the trees again. They are getting nowhere if he stops to face Yuri every two seconds.

“Well, I’d imagine it got easier to get willing mates once they started to look less like trolls and more like _you_ ,” Yuri mutters from behind him, and Otabek stumbles over a tree root. He doesn’t fall, but it’s close enough to cause him a sensation of embarrassed discomfort. He’s of the mountain, his steps aren’t supposed to falter.

Otabek thinks he hears a suppressed giggle from behind him, but he pointedly ignores Yuri and walks on.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> As always, thanks to my lovely beta / cheerleader squad [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com).


	5. five

It takes just one night in the wilderness and another day spent in the shadow of the mountain for Otabek to realize that Yuri is not going to learn to control his powers if he stubbornly refuses to even try to connect with nature. From the way Yuri talks, one would think he’s never even seen a tree before meeting Otabek.

Upon arriving to the mountain, they make a long-term camp in the vicinity. It’s not cold enough for the nearby pond to freeze over during the night, so Otabek decides that staying outdoors is the best option, to give Yuri maximal exposure to the forest.

Yuri blinks at him when upon arrival at the campsite Otabek hands him a small fold-out shovel and tells him to walk at least two hundred steps in one direction and then dig a knee-deep hole in the ground.

“For what?” Yuri scoffs, staring at the shovel in his hands.

Otabek just quirks an eyebrow. “That’s going to be the toilet,” he simply says, and Yuri scampers off, red tinting the tips of his ears.

Otabek has heard the stories of people being so alienated from nature that they don’t realize that the mincemeat they eat actually comes from a cow and that the pasteurized homogenized sterilized white liquid they like to drink also comes from the same species. He also knows there are people who don’t realize that it is possible to live without a flushing toilet, electricity and heating.

It’s one thing to hear the stories of such city-oriented people, but it’s another thing altogether to encounter a person who is, if not entirely like, then at least very close to the stereotype of a city-born youth. There were a few people in Otabek’s high school class who he thought needed to be dropped into a forest for a few days to see what nature is. Otabek mentally adds to the list a certain _skogsrå_ , who is supposed to be a warden of the forest but seemingly wants nothing to do with the forest.

Well, at least he doesn’t complain about getting dirty, Otabek noted when they had to wade through a muddy stream on their way to the mountain. That is good, because if that was added to the list of things that annoy Otabek, he would probably just flat-out carry Yuri to the spot where the mountain spits out rainwater and toss him into the stream.

Otabek ponders about his decision to stay outside the mountain rather than in it. It would be drier and warmer inside, but he decides to stay out here at least until the nearby pond freezes over.

It might be that he feels slightly hesitant about taking Yuri to the cave formation inside the mountain. Not that it’s _his_ cave or anything—it belongs to the mountain—but it feels personal on a level which he is not comfortable revealing to Yuri just yet, if ever.

The first few days pass in a near-constant sound of Yuri complaining, like an irritating mosquito near Otabek’s ear. Yuri complains about the coldness, the wetness, the odd scents and sounds and about the mist rolling over the valleys every morning because it makes his hair frizzy. One day Otabek leaves Yuri alone in the opening where they’re staying and climbs a little way up the side of the mountain. He stands barefoot on a rocky ledge and stares at the forest spreading in front of him like an evergreen carpet. It’s mostly pine trees in this part, but a little bit further out he can see the dots of color where birches and oaks are shedding their summer colors and wrapping in colorful dresses of red and yellow.

Otabek closes his eyes and feels the age-old stone hum beneath his feet. The connection is soothing, like it’s keeping him grounded and level, connecting him into something bigger than himself. Otabek doesn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t feel the connection.

He wonders what about such connection is so terrifying to Yuri, because it seems like Yuri is scared of even trying to connect with the forest. In a way Otabek gets it; it makes sense, considering what happened a few days earlier when Yuri nearly roasted Otabek’s brain into mush. The headache lasted for a solid twelve hours and Otabek would not prefer a repeat scene of that. But if it is necessary to help Yuri understand his powers, then Otabek will gladly succumb to another brain melting session. It might be painful and uncomfortable, but it’s not going to kill him.

He’s said as much to Yuri, but Yuri refuses to even try.

Otabek pushes his annoyance into the rocky surface and feels lighter, as if the stone is taking away his burden and carrying it deep underground. He tries to think back when he himself started training, but he was so young he can hardly remember it. And he’s _always_ known what he is. Otabek purses his lips thoughtfully. Perhaps he should cut Yuri some slack. The angry teenager has known what he is about _five days_. He’s bound to feel agitated.

Besides, it’s not like there’s a time limit or a deadline. They are not training for battle, even if it’s probably what the Agency had in mind when they sent Victor to find Otabek, so he could find Yuri for them. A _skogsrå_ ally would be a powerful asset against the people hunting down the _rå_ , especially now with Celestino gone.

But Otabek did not go to find Yuri for _them_.

He went to find Yuri for _Yuri_. Because Otabek wants to help _him_ , not the Agency.

Otabek strolls back to their campsite. It’s a small sheltered nook right below the first rocky cliffs of the mountains. They have a tarpaulin stretched over a rope tied between two trees and a fire surrounded by stones in front of the makeshift tent.

Yuri is sitting in front of the fire, poking a stick into the glowing embers and watching the yellow flames lick the firewood.

“Do rocks feel pain?” Yuri suddenly asks, looking up.

Otabek huffs out a laugh. “No. Why?”

“What about trees? Do they feel pain?”

Otabek sits down on the other side of the fire and crosses his legs under him. “Are you worried about hurting a tree by making a fire?”

It’s kind of endearing, but Otabek tries to keep a straight face.

Yuri glares at him. “Don’t fucking laugh,” he mutters. “I don’t know anything about this shit. How am I supposed to just know if trees can feel pain or not?”

“You could ask them,” Otabek suggests.

Yuri pokes the stick into the fire again. “Don’t wanna,” he says.

Otabek looks at him across the smoking remains of the fire. “It’s probably overwhelming. But you have to learn to control it, or otherwise you can’t live in a city anymore. You might hurt someone. Hell, you might hurt yourself.”

Yuri’s eyes flash in his direction. “How could I hurt myself?”

“You could burn out your powers,” Otabek says. He’s heard some stories about that happening.

“But that would be a good thing,” Yuri says. “Then I wouldn’t have to sit here and block out an entire forest all the time.”

Otabek’s eyes land on him, his gaze sharp. “You’re deliberately blocking?” he asks, voice low.

If Yuri is deliberately blocking out the forest, it means he has at least some semblance of control. It means he’s resisting, maybe because he’s scared, but he’s making a conscious effort to do it. Which means he’s making progress.

“So what if I am?” Yuri tilts his jaw defensively. “I just wanna go back to my life.”

“Back to foster care? Back to hiding in an abandoned shipyard building?” Otabek asks, more sharply than is probably necessary.

“Back to being human,” Yuri says.

“You were never human,” Otabek says slowly. “You will never be human.”

“ _Tell me how to burn out my powers and I will be_ ,” Yuri spits out.

For a moment it’s entirely quiet, like the forest is holding its breath with Otabek.

Then Otabek’s eyes glaze black and he jumps up. In two strides, he’s walked around the campfire and one second later he’s lifted Yuri up so his feet don’t touch the ground anymore, dangling him by the front of his parka. His face is inches away from Yuri’s and he’s staring at Yuri with all the sternness of a mountain. “You want to lobotomize yourself, _fine_. But don’t make me stand here and watch it happen,” Otabek growls in a low tone. They have already lost enough of their kind, he doesn’t need to watch this brat hurting himself.

Yuri’s eyes spark yellow and he kicks his feet at Otabek’s shins uselessly. “Fuck you,” he hisses. “Let go of me.”

Otabek only tightens his grasp on Yuri’s coat. He looks Yuri in the eye and smiles grimly.

“Make me.”

Physically, Yuri is no match for him. So there is only one way out of this.

Yuri has to use his powers.

He has to open up and let the nature in.

Otabek sighs inwardly as Yuri scowls and his eyes begin burning yellow.

It’s probably going to hurt like hell.

What he doesn’t account for is a jab at his brain that’s not pain. At least it doesn’t feel like pain. That’s the extent of Otabek’s thought process before his entire body goes limp and he lets go of Yuri, falling into darkness.

 

*

 

When Otabek comes to, he’s lying face-down on the ground. He blinks his eyes cautiously, his gaze focusing on the small tendrils of the evergreen moss spreading all around him.

His head only feels slightly cloudy, but there’s a tinge of pain radiating from the side of his left thigh.

Otabek groans and turns to the side that’s not hurting, his eyes landing on Yuri who is crouched under the tarpaulin shelter and is seemingly in the process of packing.

Otabek squints. No, not packing. Yuri is rummaging through their backpacks, tossing items here and there under the tarpaulin in apparent frustration.

“Yuri?” Otabek asks quietly. His voice is barely a whisper but Yuri hears him and turns to glare at him over his shoulder.

“Don’t you fucking have a first aid kit? You live in the goddamn _forest_ ,” Yuri mutters, and his voice breaks a little. His eyes are the shade of birch leaves in early autumn; not green but not quite yellow either. “It might come useful at times, you know.”

Otabek directs his attention to his thigh that’s starting to throb. “Oh,” he says. There is an uneven hole burned through the side of his jeans. Through the hole he can see that the skin on his thigh is red and irritated, with black soot smudged into the raw skin in the parts where it has blistered over. Some of the blisters are seeping clear fluid.

Yuri whips his hair annoyedly over his shoulder. “ _Oh_ ,” he mimics sarcastically. “Yeah, _oh_. Did you fucking have to fall straight into the campfire?”

“Did you have to drop me unconscious?” Otabek tosses back, and Yuri lets out a hiss not unlike that of an irritated cat. “Just leave it,” Otabek says, sitting up. The fogginess in his head is starting to settle and a closer examination of his thigh reveals that the burn is superficial. It will probably heal on its own overnight. “It’s going to be okay.”

Yuri comes back with a bottle of water and a somewhat clean towel, muttering under his breath. “He has like _five_ other directions he could fall in, but _no_ , he has to drop unconscious in the middle of the fire. Falls into it like a fucking log, and seriously, is it just _you_ that’s made of stone or other _bergsrå_ as well, because you do _not_ look as heavy as you are. Took fucking forever to drag you out of the fire.”

Otabek huffs out a laugh, and Yuri stops to scowl at him. “Yuri, seriously, it’s fine. My body’s pretty good at this healing business.” He’s not lying. The worst of the pain is already starting to numb and disappear.

Yuri stops a little distance away, hesitating. He clears his throat. “At least let me clean it?” he says in a small voice, and Otabek realizes this is Yuri’s way of apologizing.

He shrugs. “Sure, why not.”

He’s going to need new jeans at some point. Otabek has some winter gear in his backpack but he has a feeling that if they stay over the winter, Yuri is going to steal most of it. He’s already wearing one of Otabek’s few sweaters under his parka, and it’s not even snowing yet.

Otabek stops the train of thought that’s running ahead of him. He’s thinking about _them_ , even though doesn’t even know if Yuri is going to stay. Hell, like five minutes ago Yuri was yelling about wanting to burn out his powers to go back to a human life.

Apparently the past is in the past, even if it’s only been five minutes, because now Yuri is crouching down next to Otabek and carefully peeling the burnt edges of the denim away from the red, swollen skin, and using his leatherman knife to cut the fabric away in a wide circle around the injured area so the edges don’t touch it anymore. Yuri then pours water from the bottle into the kettle near the fire and tosses some dry sticks from their firewood stash into the pit, poking around the embers to get the fire going properly again.

Otabek watches him working, lying back and leaning onto his elbows. He has to admit that Yuri has made some progress in the few days they’ve spent in the forest. On the first day he was fumbling around, not knowing how to make a fire or build shelter or get clean water, but now he’s rekindling the fire like a pro and then setting the kettle on the edge of the pit, crouching next to it while the water heats up.

Yuri boils water, pouring it over the towel to sterilize it. Then he waits for the towel to cool down before coming over to carefully wipe the soot off Otabek’s thigh. Otabek winces and hisses at the contact, and Yuri’s eyes flash to him, looking worried.

“It’s okay,” Otabek says softly, and Yuri goes back to carefully dabbing soot off Otabek’s blistered skin. When he’s done he sits back on his heels and looks helpless.

“I don’t know what else I can do. There’s no burn salve or anything,” Yuri mumbles, hanging the towel off his fingers.

“Is there any honey left?” Otabek asks. They brought some nonperishable food items with them, and along those there is a bottle of liquid honey. He has caught Yuri eating it by the spoonfuls a few times, though, so he doesn’t know if there’s much of it left anymore.

“Yeah,” Yuri says, standing up and discarding the towel on the ground. He goes to the bag hanging off the branch of a nearby tree and reaches into it.

“Just pour some on the parts that are blistering,” Otabek instructs when Yuri comes back and stands there, holding a bottle of honey like he doesn’t know what to do with it. “Honey is antiseptic. I don’t know if it will help, but it probably can’t make things worse either.” He’s sure that most of the blisters will be gone by next morning whether treated or not, but Yuri looks like he desperately wants to do something to help, so Otabek allows him to pour small dabs of honey on his thigh and carefully spread it over the burnt skin.

He watches Yuri’s hair falling over his face as he bends to dab the honey onto Otabek’s skin with his finger, and Otabek has to smile when he plucks a small branch off the crown of Yuri’s head.

“The forest is claiming you,” Otabek says, showing him the branch when Yuri looks up as he feels the touch on his hair.

Yuri just rolls his eyes, but there is something in the corner of his mouth that could possibly count as a smile.

 

*

 

Otabek was correct in assuming that the burn would be mostly healed by the following morning. The skin that’s visible through the hole in his jeans is a little red, but it looks more like a mild sunburn than a fallen-into-a-campfire burn.

Yuri stares at the healed skin like he can’t believe it and brushes a finger over it. The skin is still slightly sticky in the wake of the honey treatment. Otabek decides maybe it’s time to wash anyway. Judging by the matted feel of the roots of his hair when he runs his fingers through it, his hair has also seen better days. A wise choice might also be to try to find pants that don’t have a gaping hole in them.

Yuri blushes furiously when Otabek suggests they walk to the pond to wash, but he follows Otabek nonetheless. Otabek notes that they don’t have to wash at the same time, but Yuri just shakes his head and mutters that it’s _fine_ without looking at Otabek. At the pond, Yuri blushes even more when Otabek unceremoniously strips his clothes and walks into the small pond. The water is no more than waist deep and it’s very clear, originating from the mountain streams. The bottom of the pond is slightly rocky and despite the coldness of the water, Otabek enjoys the feeling of the ground beneath him.

Yuri turns his back when he undresses and then runs into the water like he’s on fire.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Yuri gasps as soon as he’s knee-deep in the water. The fact that the pond originates from the mountain springs means it’s fresh and clear, but it also means it’s extremely cold. Yuri wades deeper and his skin draws into goosebumps immediately. He shivers through the entire process of washing himself and his hair with a bar of soap Otabek offers in his direction. Yuri takes the soap, not once looking up at Otabek, then washes while his eyes flit here and there over the surrounding forest. Otabek dives into the pond to rinse the soapy suds off his skin and his hair. Yuri calls him crazy while trying to get most of the soap off his hair by uselessly pouring handfuls of water on his head. Eventually he has to follow Otabek’s example, and the entire forest echoes with the scream Yuri lets out once his head breaks the surface of the water again.

“And here I thought getting pushed into the sea was bad,” Yuri says with chattering teeth as he dries himself with a towel and pulls on the spare clothes they brought from the city.

Yuri tries to leave for the campfire and curses when Otabek pulls his sleeves up and sets to wash the dirty clothes he was previously wearing.

“Do I have to wash mine?” Yuri whines.

Otabek just gives him a look. “If you want to have clean clothes at some point, yes.”

Yuri just lets out a string of curses and kneels beside Otabek to wash his own clothes.

Afterwards they sit near the fire, their clean clothes dripping water as they hang from the line of rope stretched between two nearby trees. Otabek shaves his face with the help of the small hand-held mirror and Yuri points out where he missed a spot. Otabek doesn’t retort that with his beard growth, Yuri has no room to speak. There is only the slightest fuzz on Yuri’s upper lip and on his chin, whereas Otabek thinks he’s probably starting to resemble a grizzly more than a near-human troll.

“Oh, I was supposed to cut your hair,” Yuri says. “Do you want me to do it now?”

The feeling of someone else shearing the back of his head should perhaps be disconcerting, but it just feels soothing. Otabek sits with his eyes closed and listens to the hum of the trees, the crackling of the fire and the occasional clip of the small shears as Yuri carefully works on his hair. After Yuri is done, Otabek touches the back of his head, the short hair fuzzy against his fingers.

They heat up canned soup in the kettle over the fire and Otabek watches as Yuri detangles his hair after it’s dried. The blond strands shine like gold in the firelight as Yuri brushes the small comb through them, and in the flickering light of the fire he looks like an embodiment of his _skogsrå_ heritage. His frame is small and willowy even in his thick clothes, his hair looks like spun gold and is leaning just slightly toward wavy, and his sharp features make his face look attractively foxlike. His eyes, ever-changing between green and yellow, are currently looking at Otabek questioningly, and Otabek realizes he has been staring at Yuri way too long. He clears his throat and looks away.

“So how long are we here for?” Yuri asks a bit later, in between spoonfuls of soup.

Otabek tilts his head. “There’s no time limit,” he says. “I mean, you are free to leave if that’s what you really want, but—”

“I don’t,” Yuri interrupts quietly. “Want to leave, I mean.”

For a moment, it’s quiet aside from the crackling of the fire.

“It’s really fucking scary,” Yuri eventually says, his eyes trained on his soup. “It _was_ really fucking scary,” he then reasserts. “To have you just… drop unconscious into the fire, and know that _I_ _did_ _that_. But I don’t know _how_ I did that.” His voice cracks, and he looks away, blinking.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Otabek says in a tone he hopes is soothing. He doesn’t know a lot about making people feel better. “No harm done.”

“I know,” Yuri says quickly. “But still. I don’t think I realized what I can do, before that.” He changes the soup bowl from one hand into the other and then back again, staring into the fire. The fire reflects back from them and it almost looks like when he’s connected to his powers, but not quite.

Yuri’s eyes slide over the flames and onto Otabek. “That guy in the shipyard building,” he begins.

Otabek knows what the question is before it comes. He still waits for Yuri to ask.

“I did that?” Yuri looks at Otabek hopefully, like maybe there’s another explanation to it.

“Yeah, you did,” Otabek admits and Yuri’s face falls. “But he was going to kill you, it was self-defense.”

“Me or him,” Yuri says with a sad nod. “It still sucks, that it happened.”

Yuri isn’t very articulate with his emotions, but Otabek gets what he means. “Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah, it does.”

Yuri purses his lips and his eyebrows knit close together. “So can you help me? To control… _this_.” He makes a wide gesture as if encasing the forest and himself.

“I can at least push you in the right direction,” Otabek says. “I mean, I don’t know everything about the ways of the _skogsrå_ , because I am not one, but I’ll help in any way that I can.”

“Are there others left? Other _skogsrå_?” Yuri asks. He looks past Otabek into the dark night.

Otabek shrugs. “Not in this area, to my knowledge,” he replies. “There was one, but they got him.”

“The ones who were after me?” Yuri asks, even though his tone says that he already knows the answer.

“That’s what Victor told me when he said the Agency wanted my help in finding you,” Otabek says.

Yuri wrinkles his brow, and Otabek realizes he hasn’t done much explaining about any of this. “Victor is a human with the Agency, and the Agency is this… well, _agency_ , trying to protect the _rå_ ,” he says reluctantly. “There’s humans working in the Agency, and… some _rå_.”

Yuri’s head tilts to the right, indicating curiosity. “You talk about them like _they’re_ the enemy.”

It’s a question disguised as a statement, and Otabek sighs. “They’re not,” he says slowly, trying to find the right words. “I just don’t approve of their methods of protection. They host an archive where they gather information about the individual _rå_ , but when one of their archived subjects is in need of assistance they usually just wash their hands and say they’re busy.”

“The folder about me, was that from their archive?” Yuri asks, and Otabek startles. “I found it when I was digging in your bag for a first aid kit,” Yuri explains.

Otabek nods. “Yeah. They have a file for every _rå_ they’re aware of.” Otabek looks into the dark space between the trees. “Description or photos if they have them, what kind of _rå_ , their skillset, everything they can think of that could prove useful at some point.”

“Are there many different kinds of _rå_ then?” Yuri asks. He finishes his bowl of soup and sets the bowl down, leaning closer to the fire for warmth.

“Well there’s your kind and my kind, forest and mountain. Then there are the _havsrå_ who are guardians of oceans and saltwater. And _sjörå_ for freshwater, like lakes and rivers.” Otabek furrows his brow. “There might be others but those are the ones I have met around these parts of the world.”

Yuri nods slowly. “Hmm. So the Agency, what are they gathering the information in their archive for?”

“That’s what I asked when they tried to recruit me, and when they didn’t want to give me an answer I walked right out,” Otabek says. His mentor taught him that patience, connection to his powers, curiosity and suspicion were the best assets he could carry with him, and that he should always trust his gut instinct first, what the ground is trying to tell him second, and no one else after that. Otabek has lived by those rules, and his gut instinct told him there was something fishy about the Agency, so he walked away.

“So you mentioned there’s _rå_ working with the agency, as well as humans?” Yuri says disbelievingly. “Why would the _rå_ want to work with a shady agency that gathers info on them?”

Otabek exhales. “I think for most it’s just a better alternative than nothing. At least the Agency provides protection for the _rå_ out there. Sometimes. When it suits them.”

“So they sent you to find me so they could, what, recruit me?”

Otabek shakes his head. He’s given it a lot of thought in the last few days. It’s clear that the Agency wanted Yuri to be found, or else they wouldn’t have sent Victor to talk to Otabek. But they probably have better resources at their disposal; they could have just sent one of their own. Hell, Seung-gil could have found Yuri just as easily as Otabek, and he’s on their payroll.

“I think,” Otabek begins. “I think they wanted me to train you. I’m one of the few _rå_ they know of who live off the grid, so I’m probably more in touch with my nature than the city _rå_. Perhaps they thought I was the next best thing since they didn’t have an actual _skogsrå_ to turn to. But that’s just a theory.”

“So, they want you to train me so they can recruit me once I’m fully _functional_ or whatever?” Yuri scoffs. “Well fuck them.”

Otabek huffs out a laugh. That’s kind of the response he was hoping for. Yuri smiles at him over the flames of the campfire, and his smile is sharp, accentuating the foxlike feel around him.

“So tomorrow, if I try to… connect to my powers, will you be there?” Yuri whispers.

Otabek nods solemnly. “Of course.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com). Also thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for being a wonderful and encouraging test audience.


	6. six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, if you like this story, leave me a comment! Even though I'm posting a finished story, it's kind of depressing to post without feedback...  
> Thanks to everyone who has commented so far, your comments mean the world to me! ♥

The first three times Yuri tries to connect to his powers end up giving Otabek a dull headache and awful bouts of nausea.

“Sorry,” Yuri mutters as Otabek dry-heaves on the mossy forest floor. “It’s just, it’s like this weird lightning sensation hitting me, and I feel like if I don’t channel it somewhere it’s going to burn me.”

“It’s nice to know that I’m just so convenient to you,” Otabek coughs, spitting on the moss and wiping his mouth with the back of his free hand. His other hand is digging into the soil beneath the moss, and it helps a little, like the ground is trying to soothe him.

Yuri sits down on the trunk of a fallen tree, and Otabek joins him there as soon as his knees stop shaking. They sit on the fallen tree, side by side, with Yuri leaning his elbows on his knees and resting his chin in his cupped hands. He stares glumly at the forest spreading out around them. “Stupid forest,” Yuri mutters.

Despite the headache and nausea, Otabek has to laugh. “It’s not exactly the forest’s fault you’ve been repressing yourself for, what, seventeen years?”

Yuri shrugs. “Well, it could cut me some slack.”

“You have to understand, it’s not like the forest is feeding you power,” Otabek says. “You are the power source. You need to learn to control the flow of the power. The forest is just… your connection. Like a background harmony.”

Perhaps that’s what’s wrong with Yuri’s attempts. He’s not connecting to the forest on a mental level.

Otabek glances at Yuri’s sullen figure from the corner of his eye. “Do you want to know how I do it?”

Yuri’s eyes shift just slightly so he catches Otabek’s eyes. He nods.

“Okay,” Otabek says, sliding down from the fallen trunk of the tree. He places a hand on the ground, palm flat against the mossy carpet. “I just put my bare skin against the ground, and I start listening. I trust the ground. I trust it to talk to me, shelter me, warn me if I’m in danger. That’s the feeling you’re looking for. Just… don’t think too much. Instead, try to _listen_.”

Yuri closes his eyes and looks like he’s concentrating.

“Maybe you should put your hand on a tree?” Otabek suggests. Yuri lowers one hand on the tree trunk he’s sitting on.

“Maybe… one that’s alive?” Otabek says cautiously.

Yuri’s eyes fly open and he glances at Otabek. “You want me to hug a tree?” His eyes flash in annoyance and Otabek winces, expecting another screech attack on his auditory cortex.

Instead, Yuri gets up from the fallen trunk with a huff and walks over to the nearest pine. He lowers a hand on the bark and closes his eyes again.

Otabek watches as Yuri’s stance relaxes a bit and he leans into the tree. There is a long moment of silence between them, and when Yuri’s eyes flutter open, they look slightly unfocused. “It’s weird,” Yuri comments. “I think I can hear something, but it’s like… static noise.”

“It’s a start,” Otabek says. “And at least you didn’t end up roasting my brain again.”

“I said I was sorry,” Yuri huffs defensively. “I have like zero idea what I’m doing here, so don’t fucking start with me, Mr. _I’ve been connected to my powers since I was a toddler_.”

“Fair enough,” Otabek mutters.

The following day, Yuri insists he wants to go deeper into the forest alone. “I can’t try to connect with my nature or whatever with you gawking at me and distracting me,” he explains.

Otabek shrugs at the statement. In a way he’s happy to get a chance to go visit the mountain again, so he watches Yuri shove a few muesli bars and a water bottle into his pockets and head out from the camp into the forest. Otabek presses his hand into the ground until he knows he can recognize Yuri’s steps treading on it, in case he gets lost and Otabek needs to perform a search and rescue. _Again_. Although this time it would be infinitely easier than in the city because the ground can lead him to Yuri.

Once Yuri has retreated into the forest, Otabek starts walking in the opposite direction, uphill. The autumn morning has a crisp feeling to it, like the temperature is going to go below freezing any night now. Surprisingly, Yuri has not complained about crawling out of the sleeping bag into the cold, misty mornings. Ever since he decided to stop running away from his powers, he also stopped complaining. He still layers three times as many items of clothing on himself than Otabek does, and Otabek wonders how it’s going to be like when the snow falls. He briefly imagines Yuri wrapped in so many layers of clothing that he can barely move and smiles at the mental image.

The rock surface feels like an embrace when Otabek presses both hands on the wall and asks to be allowed inside. The rock vibrates as if welcoming him, the familiar passage through the mountainside forming as he opens his eyes. Otabek brushes his fingertips along the walls of the opening as he walks through, and once on the inside he presses a palm flat against the rock, thanking the mountain for safe passage.

Once the walls close around him, Otabek blinks and allows his vision to adjust to the near-complete darkness.

The fir branches he brought in from the forest as bedding have dried over the course of his absence and dropped their needles, but the still pond and everything else in the cavern is just as it was when Otabek left some weeks ago. Otabek sits cross-legged on the edge of the pond and presses his palms against the rocky floor of the cave. He closes his eyes and feels the serene atmosphere of the mountain all around him. It feels like coming home.

He wonders if he should bring Yuri here. It would be warmer and more sheltered. There is a place to build a fire from the previous winters Otabek has spent here, right under a small chimney-like crack in the stone ceiling so the smoke doesn’t spread into the entire cavern. Somehow, bringing Yuri here doesn’t feel like that big of a deal anymore to Otabek personally, but he’s unsure how the _skogsrå_ will react to the idea of staying underground, especially since his control over his eyes is sporadic at best.

There is a small tug, something directing his attention to the outside world.

_Something, in the forest._

Sometimes Otabek wishes the ground was a bit more informative, but the message doesn’t seem urgent so he exits the cave calmly as the mountainside opens up to spit him out.

He follows the thrum of the earth down the hill, stopping every now and then to press his hand into the damp rock surface. He has a general direction that he is pretty sure will lead to Yuri, because what else would there be in this forest right now? They are far from the general hiking trails and the best season for hiking is over anyway.

Unless… someone came to find them in the forest and Yuri is in trouble.

Otabek stops to push his fingertips into the mossy ground. No, there’s still only one presence he’s being led to, so Otabek keeps strolling at a leisurely pace toward where he’s soon going to find Yuri. It starts to rain before he gets there; small, icy-cold droplets that feel like they are just on the verge of turning into snow.

Otabek stops as he reaches the opening where Yuri is sitting.

He’s sheltering under the roots of a massive fallen tree, so the roots sticking out in every direction create a strange halo-like formation behind him. There is a small raven sitting on Yuri’s shoulder, and right now he looks every bit like a forest spirit as he sits cross-legged under his tree-root backdrop.

Otabek stops to observe, because it seems Yuri has finally found something. A connection, serenity, _something_.

As Otabek draws closer, the raven caws softly into Yuri’s ear, and Yuri’s eyes flutter open.

He blinks, eyes flashing yellow but calmer than Otabek has ever seen them.

“It’s so old,” Yuri whispers as Otabek sits down a small distance away. “The forest. It knows so much.”

Otabek smiles as he digs his fingers into the ground. “So does the earth,” he simply replies, and Yuri smiles back. A silent understanding passes between them, a sensation of being a part of something bigger.

It’s by no means the end of Yuri’s training. No, the real training is just about to begin.

 

*

 

Of course, training mental powers is a lot less interesting to look at than physical training. Mostly it’s them sitting facing each other and Yuri concentrating on trying to find the feeling of his powers when he’s not angry or scared. Otabek sees flashes of frustration in Yuri’s eyes as he tries and fails to summon the power to make Otabek do something against his will.

Also, the thing is, Otabek has no idea how to teach Yuri control over these kinds mental powers, seeing as his are a different set entirely and even then, they’re a lot less complicated than anything the _skogsrå_ have. It’s easier to have control over physical strength than mental. Or so Otabek has understood from his own training with his mentor.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do to make this work?” Yuri wails, staring angrily at the trees like it’s their fault he’s unsuccessful in his attempts. “And you, shut up,” Yuri snaps, albeit gently.

“I didn’t say anything,” Otabek points out.

“I was talking to the squirrel,” Yuri mumbles. He points a finger toward a tree without looking. “There, he’s trying to escape my wrath.”

The finger follows a squirrel jumping from one branch to another in his silvery gray winter fur.

“Wait, was the squirrel laughing at you?” Otabek asks, unable to contain his own laughter.

“Yes, cheeky little fucker,” Yuri grumbles. “I will make a glove out of you if you don’t shut up,” Yuri shouts at the retreating animal.

Otabek thinks he hears the squirrel chattering something as it scurries off.

“And _you_. Stop laughing.” Yuri turns his attention to Otabek, and suddenly Otabek feels it. It’s like a small tug at the edge of his mind, urging him to…

“I’m not going to slap myself in the face,” Otabek says evenly.

“Just you wait,” Yuri threatens. “I’ll make it happen. One of these days.”

Otabek can see it in his mind; Yuri sitting lazily on the ground and chanting, _‘stop hitting yourself’_ while he makes Otabek slap himself repeatedly.

Sometimes he wonders why he signed up for this.

The following weeks see some progress. Yuri learns to control his eyes first and amuses himself by flicking from green to yellow randomly, even managing to change one eye to yellow while the other remains green. Despite rolling his eyes at Yuri’s antics, Otabek can’t help but laugh when Yuri looks at him, one eye green and the other yellow, crossing his eyes so he seems to be looking at his own nose intently.

Yuri does eventually manage to make Otabek slap himself, but only once and at a time when Otabek is not paying attention. As soon as Otabek turns his attention to Yuri the tug of the power diminishes. Yuri still whoops like it’s a great victory, until Otabek strides over to him and turns him upside down, hanging him by the ankles until he apologizes, still laughing.

They move inside the mountain the morning the first snowflakes fall on the ground. The snow doesn’t stick, but it’s getting colder and soon the pond will freeze over.

Otabek pretends like he doesn’t feel at least a bit smug when Yuri’s jaw drops open as he sees the passage to the cave forming in front of his eyes at the press of Otabek’s palms into the rock wall. Yuri follows Otabek inside, crowding him in the narrow opening like he’s afraid that the stone walls will close while he’s still in between them.

As Otabek asks for the passage to close after them and drops his backpack on the floor of the cave, Yuri looks a bit panicked for a second. Then his eyes flash yellow and Otabek sees him looking around himself.

“Can you see? We can make a fire,” Otabek offers.

Yuri’s eyes turn to stare at Otabek in such an unimpressed way that Otabek has no doubts about Yuri’s night vision anymore.

“Well, we’re going to have to make a fire eventually anyway to make food and heat up the cave a bit,” Otabek explains with a shrug.

Yuri strolls around the cave, looking at the walls and listening to the dripping sound of the water. “Like what you’ve done with the place.” He walks over to the pond and pokes a finger into the still water. Then he promptly comes over to slap Otabek lightly on the head. “We could have bathed in this lukewarm water and instead you had me wash in that icy fucking pond outside,” he complains.

The pond inside the cave is hardly lukewarm, but seemingly Yuri has gotten used to the coldness of the outside world so well that anything else feels warm in comparison.

They make a fire from the stash of firewood Otabek left in the cave. Then Otabek opens the passage outside to change the fir branches from the sleeping corner into fresh ones. He drags the old branches out of the cave, sprinkling dry needles everywhere, and then returns, dragging fresh branches for them both.

“Did you like rip a whole tree off its roots and drag it here?” Yuri asks when Otabek lays the branches on the floor of the cave.

“Something like that,” Otabek says with a slight smile. Sometimes it comes in handy to have physical strength.

Yuri extends a hand and strokes a finger gently over the thicker part of one of the branches. His lips move but there is no sound coming out, and Otabek realizes with a fond warmth in the pit of his stomach that Yuri is silently thanking the forest for this gift. For someone who a month ago had zero experience in anything that had to do with nature, this is quite a leap forward.

They drag the branches in the sleeping corner and spread the tarpaulin on top to prevent needles from digging into their sleeping bags.

The first night in the cave, Otabek falls asleep feeling simultaneously like he’s come home and like he’s in a strange place, because instead of the usual sound of silence only cut off by his own breaths, there is an even breathing emerging from his right side. He watches Yuri in the darkness of the cave. Strangely, it’s also started to feel like home to sleep next to Yuri. They only had limited room under the tarpaulin shelter, so they slept next to each other for practical reasons. Otabek realizes that even though now they could both have some space and privacy, they dragged both sleeping bags into the same corner without a second thought.

In the dying light of the embers, Yuri’s hair shines like gold and copper, and Otabek feels like an ancient forefather of his, admiring shiny metals found inside the mountain. He chuckles quietly at this thought and then lets his eyes slide shut against the dawn that around this time of year only comes in the form of gray mist over the mountains, and here beneath the mountain does not come at all.

 

*

 

One morning they’re doing rounds in the forest to gather the last lingonberries of the season. It’s damp and cold, their breaths creating small puffy clouds that vanish quickly into the air. They walk past their original campsite and the pond they used to wash in. The pond has frozen over with a clear coat of ice, so thin that it can still be broken by touch. Otabek is walking ahead when he feels it—a slow, burning sensation in the pit of his stomach, calling him to Yuri.

“You’re doing the seduction thing right now,” Otabek says and looks at Yuri.

Yuri, who seems barely awake and is shivering in his parka, startles and his eyes widen. “Oh, shit. Sorry,” he says, his movements twitchy as he looks up at the cloudy sky.

“I don’t know how to make it stop,” Yuri says in a whiny tone after a moment. “Like, I have some kind of an idea about causing pain and making you fall unconscious, but with this I don’t know what I’m doing _at all_.”

Well, that’s slightly disconcerting.

“It’s already going away now,” Otabek replies. The tug usually lessens when Yuri panics about doing something without meaning to. “Try to feel what your mind and body are doing when this happens and what changes when it stops. Like, what’s happening in your mind, and can you maybe trace it and reproduce it consciously.”

Yuri yawns and nods. He stops to fiddle with the string of his hood while Otabek crouches beside a shrub of lingonberries. They’ve already frozen and thawed a few times during the colder nights, so their juice is sweeter, like a smoothie.

Otabek offers some to Yuri, and he takes the berries and inserts one into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

The food supplies they brought with them have been gone for a while now, and Otabek ponders how much of a pain it would be to walk over to the nearest town to buy more. He has a good amount of cash left of the wad Victor handed to him, so buying stuff might be easier. Yuri still flinches whenever Otabek brings over a skinned rabbit, but that’s not the only reason he’s considering a supply run. They’re also sorely lacking in the vegetable department. The northern forest offers a lot to eat but the season for growth has been over for months now, so the only things left are the few lingonberries and some roots they can dig up. Otabek has survived two winters on the offerings of the earth, but it’s not always been easy or fun. He doesn’t think he needs to purposefully make his life more difficult than it has to be—it’s not like he’s above buying groceries from a store.

That being decided, Otabek turns to look at Yuri. “What do you say about a supply run into the nearest town?”

Yuri’s eyes widen. “To go visit civilization?” he says excitedly and then bats his lashes at Otabek. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Don’t say I never take you anywhere,” Otabek deadpans. “How about tomorrow? We can leave early and make it back by nightfall.

Yuri is quiet for a moment. “Where _is_ the nearest town?” he then asks.

Otabek points to his right. “Four or five hours’ hike in that direction.”

The city they left is nearly as close but almost in the opposite direction. Otabek doesn’t want to risk going into the city, though, because whoever was after Yuri might still be lurking around. Besides, he doesn’t want to run into the Agency folks.

Then again, they might run into trouble in the smaller town as well.

“So, you should practice roasting my brain today,” Otabek says slowly, standing up from the shrubs. “Just in case. Never know who we might run into.”

Yuri’s eyes flash, and Otabek knows he’s thinking about their escape from the harbor. Yuri seemingly doesn’t want to run into those people again any more than Otabek does.

“Okay,” Yuri says. “Just, let me know if I’m killing you.”

“Will do,” Otabek says.

They walk back to the cave so they can practice somewhere closer to shelter.

“Somewhere so I don’t need to carry you very far in case you happen to fall unconscious,” Yuri jokes.

“Your concern is so touching,” Otabek mutters dryly.

They practice in a small meadow near the rocky wall leading into their cavern. First Yuri fumbles a lot, and it’s a mess of different stuff in Otabek’s head, mirroring Yuri’s uncertainty. There are flickers of pain, coaxing tugs for his limbs to do something he doesn’t order them to do, and even some red-hot flashes of lust.

“You’re just throwing everything you have at me simultaneously,” Otabek says as he easily shuts the irritating stimuli outside like they’re mosquitoes buzzing around his head. “You have to concentrate on just one.”

“How many times have you tried doing this?” Yuri hisses. His brow is furrowed in concentration and his fists are balled in frustration.

“Zero,” Otabek says easily. “But then again, I don’t have your powers.”

“Just like I don’t have yours, so I need to keep you close constantly like a house key if I want to get inside the mountain,” Yuri mutters under his breath.

Otabek grins in amusement. Seemingly that’s enough to channel Yuri’s frustration, because Otabek is immediately hit with a screeching pain inside his head.

“Don’t hurt the house key,” Otabek manages before the pain sears its way into his brain and it feels like his head might spontaneously explode from inside out. He sinks to his knees, holding his head.

The screeching doesn’t intensify, though. It’s kept at a level where the pain is enough to incapacitate him but not enough to cause nausea. Otabek looks up at Yuri, who is staring back with a look of deep concentration on his face. This is not one of those earlier bouts when he didn’t know what he was doing. No, this is methodical, controlled.

“Okay, you can stop now,” Otabek gasps from his crouched position. He can’t hear himself through the noise but he feels himself forming the pleading words. “I mean, _can_ you stop? Please?”

Yuri laughs, and even though Otabek can’t hear it, in the light of what Yuri is currently doing the joyous expression looks _dangerous_.

The shrieking pain vanishes from Otabek’s brain in a flash, and he sits back on the damp ground, breathing heavily. “Okay, I think you’ve got the pain inducement down pretty well. So, can we _not_ do that again?”

“I was going easy on you,” Yuri says, sounding incredulous. “C’mon, you didn’t even throw up.”

Otabek glares at him. “You’re liking this way too much,” he accuses.

Yuri smiles bashfully. “It’s not the _causing pain_ part I’m happy about,” he explains, like Otabek doesn’t know it. “It’s the fact that I finally feel like I kind of know what I’m doing, at least a little bit.”

“Mhmm,” Otabek grumbles and gets up. “Okay, I think we’re all set for our visit to the town.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> As always, thank you to [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for their friendship and for helping me with this story.


	7. seven

They leave for the nearest town early next morning. The clouds above the mountain seem to hang low, and Yuri tugs at his frizzy hair annoyedly and eventually braids it under his hood. “Remind me to find my beanie when we come back,” Yuri says, pulling at the strings of the hood so it hugs close to his face. He looks kind of funny like this, just a small oval opening in a hood and a pair of green eyes staring out of it. Otabek smiles at the sight, but doesn’t say anything.

There’s some slushy snow on the ground and it sticks in the shadowed areas. Winter is just around the corner, and Otabek is growing his usual winter beard. It’s helpful in keeping warm, but Yuri teases him endlessly about it and makes remarks about living with a caveman. Otabek tells him he’s just jealous because his _skogsrå_ ass can’t grow a beard to save his life.

“Well, maybe not all of us want to look like trolls,” Yuri jabs, nudging Otabek with his elbow as they walk.

“Jealousy talking,” Otabek retorts in a sing-song tone, stroking his beard meaningfully.

Yuri rolls his eyes.

There are no clear paths in these parts of the forest, so in places they have to walk in single file, but at times the trees grow more sparsely so they can walk side by side over the moss and undergrowth that’s partially covered in snow.

As they walk, Otabek comes to think about something. “When you ran away from foster care, how did you live? Like, did you steal, or did you have money?”

Yuri lets out a small giggle. “You know, I was just thinking about that when I practiced making you do things. I didn’t have the guts to steal anything, but I did some begging, and I may have sometimes wondered why people were so generous…”

Otabek groans. “You compelled them to give you money without knowing what you were doing.”

“Yeah,” Yuri shrugs, unashamed. “I mean I did run after one woman when she tried to leave her entire wallet—credit cards and all—in my hand.”

Otabek bursts out laughing. “And yet you never wondered if perhaps you weren’t exactly like other people?”

“I knew I _felt_ like I was different,” Yuri says matter-of-factly. “But there is a whole section of young adult novels in the library and a whole genre of movies of the same kind, each and every one of them targeting the fact that teenagers always feel like they’re the _different one_. It’s supposedly something to do with the hormones and whatnot, makes you feel like an outsider no matter who you are. So I figured everyone else also feels out of place at this age, so it’s just me being… a teenager.”

Otabek shoves him lightly in the shoulder. “A teenager like any other regular teenager who can just make people leave their wallets to him, sure.”

Yuri huffs as he almost bumps into a tree by the force of the shove. He circles around the tree trunk and returns to Otabek’s side. “I knew _that_ wasn’t normal. But how do you explain such things to yourself when you have no way of knowing what’s causing them? Like, think about it for a second. If you didn’t know who you were, you’d think that it’s normal to be as strong as you are. You’d think _everyone_ is that strong, and everyone can just hear the ground talking to them. You’d take it for granted, until one day you’d start talking about it to someone and then you’d end up at a psychiatrist’s office because everyone else thinks you’re crazy.”

Otabek looks at Yuri from the corner of his eye as they walk for a moment in silence. He can’t see much of Yuri’s face because it’s covered by his hood, but Yuri sounds angry in a resigned way.

“Is that what happened to you?” Otabek asks cautiously.

“I used to talk to the squirrels that lived in the trees around the foster care building, and they talked to me. The staff thought it was adorable, until at some point someone decided I was too old to have imaginary friends. Two years and many therapy sessions later, I did not talk to squirrels again.” Yuri pushes his hands deep into his pockets and looks down, the hood covering what little was visible of his face in the first place. He chuckles tiredly. “I guess they taught me to repress that side of myself pretty well.”

Otabek curses under his breath. If only there had been someone who knew what Yuri was from the beginning. It could have changed everything. “You know, for once I actually wish the Agency would have found someone and archived them sooner. Someone could have helped you if they only knew you existed.”

“Well, no sense crying over it anymore,” Yuri says lightly. “I mean, at least now I know I was not crazy thinking the squirrels really replied.”

The hours pass alternatingly in silence and them talking about their lives. Otabek realizes there is so much he doesn’t know about Yuri, even though they have lived together in the forest for some time. He also realizes he hasn’t really told much about himself, so he sets out to fix this.

“My mentor was a _bergsrå_ named Yakov,” Otabek explains. “He wasn’t from around here but my dad invited him to coach me.”

Yuri looks at him, surprised. “What about your parents, aren’t they _rå_?”

“My mother was,” Otabek says. “She died giving birth to me.” That’s all he knows. Sometimes Otabek wonders what happened, because his father never really talked about the details.

“Oh,” Yuri exhales. “Sorry.”

“I never knew her so I don’t know how to miss her,” Otabek says. He probably misses the _idea_ of having a mother, but since he’s never had one it’s hard to imagine what it would be like. “But anyway, my dad sought out a _bergsrå_ to help me once my powers started manifesting. It was so early I don’t remember it. Yakov came to help me find control, he stayed here about half of each year until I was ten. Then he said he had given me all he could and went back home.”

“What about your dad?” Yuri asks, looking at Otabek from under his hood.

Otabek is quiet for a moment as he pushes the low-hanging branches of a pine tree out of the way and lets Yuri pass before letting the branch go. “Died of cancer the year I graduated high school.”

Yuri looks like he wants to bite his tongue off. “Shit, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Otabek replies. “Anyway, he was pretty much my only connection to the city anymore, so I jumped off the grid and moved into the mountain.”

That’s not entirely true. He does have some friends left, even if he doesn’t know where they currently are. He briefly wonders how JJ is doing wherever the Agency placed him after he was targeted.

The day is warming up a bit, and Yuri pulls his hood off his head. The sun worms its rays through some of the clouds and for a moment the forest is bathed in bleak golden light.

They arrive in the sleepy-looking town around noon. The clouds above have scattered and moved on, and the early winter day feels crisp. They walk into a grocery store and promptly clean the shelves of canned foods and other nonperishables.

“A little late in the year for hiking, eh?” the cashier in the small grocery store comments as they pack their purchases into their backpacks. Otabek glances at Yuri, and Yuri grins wickedly. They definitely look like they’re going for a hike, with their winter gear and backpacks.

“We’re not actually going hiking,” Yuri says, completely deadpan. “We just like to live off of canned food and peanut butter and apples.”

The cashier looks at them like he can’t decide whether Yuri is joking or not. Otabek hides his smile and pays for the groceries while Yuri packs the rest.

“So,” Yuri says as they exit the store. “Now we just have to drag all _this_ back to the mountain.” He points at the backpack hanging off his shoulders and nods in the direction where the mountain looms above the treetops in the distance. From this perspective it looks like it’s close, but Yuri’s face says that he knows exactly how far away it is.

“I can carry your bag if you get tired, milady,” Otabek smirks. “Hell, I could probably carry your backpack _and_ you if needed.”

“Careful, troll, I might _make_ you do that,” Yuri says airily.

Otabek kind of likes the way Yuri sometimes calls him _troll_. It’s not an insult, because the way Yuri says it indicates fondness rather than hostility.

“Alright, well we better get going if we want to get back before that cloud comes over and snows down,” Otabek says, pointing at the gray mass hanging above the forest beyond the mountain.

Before Otabek has time to move, though, Yuri lowers a hand on his arm. “Wait, before we leave, can we please go in there?”

Otabek looks at the small secondhand bookstore Yuri is pointing to him and huffs out a laugh. “Fine. But you’re carrying your own books.”

In the end, Otabek ends up carrying Yuri’s books and his backpack while Yuri paces quietly behind him, obviously dead tired but not admitting it.

When they arrive back to the cave, Yuri falls on his sleeping bag and is asleep before Otabek can even drop the stuff he’s carrying.

Otabek hums quietly under his breath as he unpacks the food and arranges them in neat stacks in one corner of the cavern. There’s all kinds of canned food, jars of peanut butter, several bottles of honey and countless boxes of muesli bars. The tune he hums is a monotonous chant that Yakov taught him. It’s not originally from this region, but it’s a song of the mountains nonetheless. The deep hum seems to rumble through him and into the walls, and Otabek stops to take his shoes off so he can feel the earth beneath him while he hums. He makes dinner and then goes to wake up Yuri.

Yuri stirs when Otabek shakes him gently. “Go away,” he mumbles.

“Yuri, there’s dinner,” Otabek says.

Yuri cracks his eyes open, and in the dimness of the cave they look like slits of yellow. “Food?” he asks, sounding more alert.

“Soup,” Otabek says, nodding toward the fire where the soup is bubbling happily in the pot. “And bread. I toasted it on the fire a bit.”

Yuri gets up at the mention of bread and wanders over to the fire after Otabek. Yuri sits down close to the heat of the flames and picks up his bowl, handing it over. Otabek pours the soup into the bowls and tosses Yuri a piece of warm, toasted bread.

Yuri catches the bread and brings it close to his face, inhaling. “You know, it sounds stupid but I’ve missed bread,” he says, biting into the piece. He takes the bowl of soup and dips the bread into it. “Oh my god this is so _good_ ,” he groans as he eats the piece of bread dipped in soup.

Otabek laughs. Yuri looks so happy with his bowl of soup and his piece of bread that it’s easy to forget everything he’s gone through, starting from foster care, psychiatric treatment and accidentally killing people.

Well, it’s not like people have to be constantly sulky and depressed even if they’ve gone through a lot of shit. Everyone has good days and bad days, no matter what the circumstances. Yuri just has had a fucked-up ratio of good days versus bad in the past.

Otabek hopes that from this day on, Yuri gets more good days than bad ones.

 

*

 

Yuri’s power awakening is not a sudden flash and boom; it happens gradually over time. First, it’s his vision, then the pain-inducing screech inside Otabek’s head, and Yuri’s control over it seems sporadic. After that it’s a long stretch of what feels like no progress at all, until one day Otabek finds himself jumping around the cave on one foot while Yuri sits back and laughs. Otabek is well aware that he does not _want_ to be jumping around on one foot, but he is powerless at making himself stop. He’s just a puppet and Yuri is currently holding the strings.

“Hey, at least I didn’t make you hit yourself,” Yuri points out when he finally releases Otabek.

Otabek lurches at him, pushing him against the cave wall and growling into his ear. Yuri sounds amused, like no amount of physical threats can affect him anymore. It’s kind of true, though. Otabek might have the upper hand in physical strength, but it’s no use to him if Yuri can get inside his head and make him stop and do the chicken dance instead.

Otabek makes a mental note to never mention the chicken dance to Yuri, because he’s fairly sure that’s exactly what he’ll end up doing if Yuri comes to think of it.

“Okay, so you’ve got the pain and humiliation down, what’s next?” Otabek asks dryly.

Yuri looks at him like he’s a bit slow and raises one eyebrow.

Otabek wants to slap himself without Yuri making him do that.

_Of course._

What’s left is pretty much the only aspect of Yuri’s powers they haven’t yet practiced, although Yuri has occasionally unleashed his power of seduction on Otabek by accident. Yuri has shied away from conscious efforts to use his seduction, but as it is, it’s the only thing Yuri has left to try.

Yuri blushes as Otabek stares at him silently for a long while.

This is going to be interesting.

 

*

 

“Okay, you’re doing it again,” Otabek says, his eyes shifting to Yuri, who looks up from his book like a deer in the headlights. “You’re seducing me,” Otabek clarifies. Yuri blushes deep red, and in the current situation it makes him look even more attractive. Otabek forces himself to look away.

“I don’t mean to,” Yuri mutters. He slams the book shut and drops it on the ground beside him. “Ugh, why is this so difficult to grasp?”

It’s a crisp winter day and they’re sitting side by side on a high cliff on the mountainside, above the treetops, reading books they chose from the secondhand store. There is no wind and the sun is shining, so the weather feels almost warm even if the ground is kind of cold.

Yuri gets up from the rocky edge of the cliff and paces farther. “Is it better now?” he asks, walking around in a wide circle nervously.

“Yeah,” Otabek says.

Yuri shakes his head. “I have no idea how that works. Like there isn’t this discernible _feeling_ to it like there is with the pain and coaxing someone to do something.”

Otabek looks at Yuri. “Have you ever felt it?” he asks. “Lust?” he clarifies when Yuri raises his eyebrows questioningly.

Otabek sees the movement of Yuri’s throat as he swallows. “I’m a seventeen-year-old-guy,” Yuri says slowly. “What do you think?”

Otabek shrugs. “Could be hard to decipher if you don’t know what you’re looking for,” he simply points out and turns to face the treetops below the cliff.

Yuri mutters something under his breath and continues pacing.

“What are you reading?” Otabek asks, glancing at the cover of the book Yuri left on the edge. “I thought you didn’t like YA fiction,” he says teasingly as he reads the title of the book.

“Shut up,” Yuri mutters.

“Wait, isn’t this the one where the misunderstood main character turns out to have supernatural powers and he needs to save the world?” Otabek picks up the book. A smile tugs at Otabek’s lips, and Yuri rolls his eyes.

Yuri marches over and snatches the book from Otabek’s hand. “Shut up,” he says again.

“What? Do you want to save the world too?” Otabek teases.

“Ugh,” Yuri groans and tosses the book at Otabek. It bounces off his shoulder and they both watch as the book tumbles over the edge of the cliff and disappears from sight. “You can go get that,” Yuri snaps, turning on his heels and marching down the hill toward the cave. Otabek watches him go and sees the exact moment when Yuri realizes he has no way if getting in before Otabek comes back. Yuri stops dead and seems to hesitate, but then he stomps on anyway, not looking back.

Otabek isn’t exactly sure if Yuri is _making_ him do this or if he _wants_ to do this, but he climbs down the cliff anyway to fetch the book from where it’s resting on a small ledge. The jagged edges of the cliff-side are slippery, but Otabek trusts the mountain. It will not let him slip. There is one part of his climb where suddenly he doesn’t have a foothold. Otabek hangs by his hands from the ledge he previously stood on, and he closes his eyes, asks for a miracle he himself could never perform, but the mountain can.

There is a low rumbling noise, and a small edge of jagged rock pushes out of the rocky wall right below Otabek’s feet. He grins, sends his thanks to the mountain and climbs the rest of the way down to the book.

When he gets back up to the edge where they were sitting, the book between his teeth, Yuri is back and waiting for him. He looks a little pale. “Are you crazy? You could have fallen,” Yuri mutters, looking away as Otabek pushes the book into his hands.

Otabek shakes his head. “Nah, not on this mountain.” If anything, scaling the steep cliff made him feel more alive. Otabek decides he should climb the mountain more often.

Yuri shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “Still, I shouldn’t have made you—” he says.

Otabek lowers a hand on Yuri’s shoulder. “You didn’t,” he replies. “I _wanted_ to go get the book. I still haven’t read it, you know.” He winks at Yuri.

Yuri hisses and turns to stomp down toward the cave for a second time. Otabek snickers and follows the angry _skogsrå_ to where he is currently waiting, arms crossed over his chest and huffing out small, irritated clouds of breath while Otabek asks for the mountain another favor and the passage opens before their eyes.

 

*

 

A few days later it happens again.

“You’re doing it again,” Otabek says without looking up from the piece of rock he’s picked up from the floor of the cave and is absently molding in his hands. He feels the pull of Yuri’s power strong on him, feels the urge to go and pull Yuri into his arms. Otabek squeezes the rock tighter in his hands and waits for the feeling to pass. His jaw muscles clench and the poor rock is taking the brunt of Otabek’s attempts at resisting the _skogsrå_ ’s pull.

When Otabek risks a glance, Yuri’s ears look a bit pink and his eyes dart here and there, landing on anything but Otabek. “Oh,” he says. “Um.”

The confusion is enough to diminish the tug into a slight sensation deep in Otabek’s stomach, and he sighs in relief as the urge disappears. He hopes Yuri is closer to figuring out how to switch this power off consciously, because things can’t go on like this. He can’t keep going through these weird attacks of lust much longer.

Otabek discards the remains of the rock that at this point look more like shrapnel.

At this point, Otabek would take the screeching noise in his head and Yuri making him slap himself infinitely rather than this. He watches as the cut he got from crushing the rock contracts slowly and forms a scab over the injured area.

Otabek glances over at Yuri and sees him watching Otabek’s wounded hand, eyes glowing yellow in the dim light. “Sorry,” Yuri whispers over the distance.

Otabek swallows and his chest aches in a weird way. “Not your fault,” he replies.

 

*

 

This is getting ridiculous.

“You’re doing it _again_ ,” Otabek sighs without even looking up from where he’s digging into the snow to find the roots of the ferns he knows grow on this spot during the summer. Their roots taste like licorice and he’s been craving licorice root tea for a few days now.

Otabek expects a fumbling apology from somewhere behind him and a diminishing in the urgent need surrounding him, but it doesn’t go away like it usually does.

When Otabek looks up over his shoulder, Yuri is staring straight at him across the snow-covered opening. He’s leaning against a frosty tree, stance relaxed like the tree is hugging him from behind. His eyes are strikingly green with a hint of yellow around the irises. His mouth is half-open, breaths clouding in front of him. As their eyes lock across the distance, there is a pink flick of Yuri’s tongue lapping across his upper lip.

Otabek swallows and blinks.

Looks like Yuri has finally learned to control his seductive power, and now he is aiming the full force of it at Otabek. The sensation hits Otabek like a freight train in the gut. His eyes glaze over in black without conscious decision; he’s suddenly acutely aware of every fluttering motion of Yuri’s eyelashes and the way his breaths make his chest rise under the winter parka. Seriously, he’s covered in about ten layers of clothing and still he looks like the hottest thing Otabek has ever seen.

Otabek’s mouth goes dry and he’s halfway across the opening, fern roots forgotten, before he catches himself and stops. Otabek bites his tongue and forces himself to sit down on the snowy ground, his eyes still on Yuri.

Otabek has to use every ounce of his willpower to stay rooted. He digs a hand into the snow and feels the freezing cold ground beneath, hoping it will level his head. The urge to walk over to Yuri is so strong that it feels like a physical struggle to _not_ do that. Heat gathers in his stomach and there is a rush of blood from his brain downward, to an area thankfully covered by his thick winter coat.

“ _Yuri_ ,” Otabek says in a low, warning tone. It comes out almost like a growl.

The tug is there for a few more painful seconds, and then Yuri’s expression melts into a grin and the urge Otabek felt just a second ago vanishes like it was never there. Suddenly Yuri is just Yuri again; an annoying piece-of-work _skogsrå_ who is determined to make Otabek’s life as difficult as possible. Apparently, that agenda now also includes randomly tossing in a forceful bout of seduction, because _clearly_ Otabek hasn’t already suffered enough.

Otabek pulls his hand from the snow and pushes it into his sleeve to warm his fingers again. He is so screwed.

 

*

 

“Stop seducing me,” Otabek grumbles as Yuri brushes past him in the cave one morning after breakfast.

Yuri stops and looks at Otabek incredulously, a half-eaten muesli bar still in his hand. “I’m not?” he says with a question in his tone.

Otabek stares at Yuri with his brows furrowed. He could have _sworn_ …

Yuri shakes his head, eyes wide. “For real, I’m _not_.”

Otabek swallows. “Oh.”

Well, that probably means that for some indecipherable reason he finds this pain-in-the-ass _skogsrå_ attractive even when he’s not waving around his tendrils of seduction. _Well_ , Otabek amends to himself, Yuri _can_ be a real piece of work at times, but he’s also smart and funny, and these days it feels natural to have him around.

Otabek doesn’t want to think forward to the time when Yuri is no longer going to be here.

Yuri tilts his head. “Wait, does that mean—” he suddenly asks. He sounds delighted.

Otabek slams a palm on his forehead and then drags it down his face. “No. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“You like me,” Yuri says. “Like, you actually _like_ me.”

Otabek inhales a breath to respond with fire and brimstone, but something in Yuri’s expression stops him.

“You like _me_ ,” Yuri says again, and his voice is suddenly filled with such raw disbelief that it makes Otabek want to hug him and never let go.

Instead he pushes his hands into the pockets of his fleece jacket, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. “Well, so?”

“No one’s ever—” Yuri’s voice breaks and he looks down.

Otabek swallows, because it suddenly feels like there’s a lump in his throat. Yuri sounds like no one has ever behaved in a way that indicated liking him, aside from the previously unexplainable bouts of people throwing themselves at him when he accidentally poured seduction around himself without realizing it. But that was never about liking _Yuri_ , and Yuri knew that. He knew people desired him for whatever reason, but he also sounds like no one has ever liked him for _him_.

_Oh, screw everything_ , Otabek thinks and steps forward to pull Yuri into a tight hug. This might complicate things down the line but right now he just wants to hug Yuri, consequences be damned.

Yuri clings onto him like he’s drowning, his face buried in the crook of Otabek’s neck, breath warm against Otabek’s skin. Otabek stares at the still surface of the pond in the cave while Yuri’s hair tickles his neck, waiting until Yuri’s breathing evens out a little. In the quietness inside the mountain Yuri’s heartbeats mix with his own, joining the everlasting thrum of the earth, and momentarily Otabek feels like they’re one; him and Yuri and the earth beneath them.

Otabek lets go when Yuri squirms a little. Yuri steps back and looks at Otabek with glowing eyes. Otabek can’t quite put his finger on it, but somehow Yuri looks different.

Yuri smiles, and combined with the yellow eyes fixed on Otabek it’s a breathtaking sight.

Otabek is honestly not sure if Yuri is constantly seducing him or if he’s just fallen so hard he fails to see anything but perfection when he looks at Yuri.

Then Yuri raises his hand and studies the mushed-up remains of a muesli bar sticking to his palm. Otabek bites his lip but ends up laughing anyway when Yuri apparently decides that the bar is still good enough to eat and pops it into his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing the bar, Yuri licks the sticky residue off his palm and Otabek has to look away, breath hitching just slightly.

He seriously can’t tell anymore if Yuri is doing the seduction thing or not.

He is screwed. So, _so_ screwed.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com). You guys are the _skogsrå_ to my _bergsrå_ , because of course you are. ♥


	8. eight

It’s kind of a dance around each other for the next few days, because now they both _know_ about Otabek’s feelings, but neither seems willing to break the comfortable silence they often fall into.

Otabek notices that looks are the first things that change. Naturally, having lived together for most of the fall and part of the winter, there isn’t much of each other they haven’t seen. Otabek has lived in nature for long enough to not bat an eyelash at nudity anymore, and Yuri is beginning to not freak out about it anymore. But before, Otabek hasn’t really paid attention to Yuri when he wanders around the cave scantily clad after washing himself.

Now he does.

He notices the small mole on Yuri’s left shoulder blade, the very fine blond hairs on his legs, the small scar at the side of Yuri’s arm right above his elbow. The scar is light and faded, like a jagged cut, Otabek notes before his eyes wander up Yuri’s arm and to the prominent arch of his collarbone. He tries to be discreet but he knows Yuri probably notices him watching. Yuri doesn’t seem to hurry to put his layers of clothes back on, though, despite the coldness of the cave drawing his skin into goosebumps.

Otabek also notices that Yuri returns the looks. He feels Yuri’s eyes drilling between his shoulder blades, sliding over his skin as he walks to the pool of water to wash in the morning, and he sees the way Yuri sometimes swallows when Otabek sits close to the fire and light of the flames paints his bare arms in bright orange and deep contrasting shadows.

In a way it reminds Otabek of the dance of the nature; how animals and birds behave in certain ways to attract mates. If only it were as easy for them; all instinct and none of this rational thinking or emotions. Otabek doesn’t know if it was easier for the _rå_ of olden days. Perhaps it was more animalistic and straightforward before, but interbreeding with humans has brought emotions into the mess, and now there is no escaping them.

The touches are the next things to change.

Or maybe it’s just the way Otabek views the touches that changes. Living in close quarters in the forest and under the mountain, they’ve brushed against one another on more than one occasion, but now every small touch seems to light Otabek’s skin on fire.

At first he thinks he imagines it, but soon he notices the deliberateness with which Yuri seeks his closeness and he seeks Yuri’s. It’s a touch on the arm here, a brush of the shoulder there. It’s Yuri leaning his head on Otabek’s shoulder as they sit near the fire in the cave, and it’s Otabek carding his fingers through Yuri’s hair to gently comb out the tangles.

They gravitate toward one another like two planets on a collision course, but Otabek isn’t sure what it means.

 

*

 

It’s the coldest month of the winter, but despite the cold Yuri wants to go outside. It’s interesting to see him miss the forest so much that he’s willing to layer up and endure the freezing weather just to be able to walk in the snowy forest. Otabek is still surviving on one sweater and his coat, but Yuri is starting to resemble a well-padded teddy bear in his layers of clothing. Still he somehow manages to move gracefully and quietly over the snow-covered undergrowth. Otabek walks a little behind Yuri, admiring the landscape. It’s cold but sunny, so the forest seems to glitter like thousands of diamonds covering the ground and the branches of the trees.

Yuri stops a little ahead of Otabek and turns to look back. His cheeks are red from the cold and there is a mischievous glint in his eyes. Otabek has just enough time to wonder what Yuri is up to when something small and light drops onto his shoulder from a tree above. Otabek looks to the shoulder in question when another small thing lands in his hood that’s hanging down his back. Then there is a tugging sensation at his both pantlegs, and Otabek sighs, turning to glare at Yuri as a mass of squirrels suddenly climbs all over him.

“Did you have a reason for covering me in squirrels, or is this just for shits and giggles?”

There are five or six of them, all in their silvery gray winter coloring, chattering as they climb on Otabek’s clothes. Otabek catches some of the chatter, and seemingly the squirrels enjoy teasing him just about as much as Yuri does. Otabek tugs a squirrel out of his hood and holds the animal in front of his face, looking at it sternly. The beady black eyes stare at him with no hint of fear, and Otabek just sighs and sets the squirrel on his shoulder. It immediately scuttles back into his hood, where Otabek can feel it curl up. The rest of them are climbing up and down his clothes, one of them even venturing to push up the lid of his pocket, and a second later the small animal has pushed itself into the pocket in search of treats.

Otabek extracts a squirrel from the crown of his head where it’s perched on his beanie, then digs out the one hiding in his pocket. “Yuri,” he says calmly. “Please call these away. I’m not a goddamn Disney princess.”

He expects a mischievous snicker resembling the chatter of the squirrels, but Yuri doesn’t reply. Otabek looks up to catch Yuri staring at him with a strange look in his eyes.

Yuri startles as Otabek’s gaze finds him, and he absently makes a small clicking sound with his tongue.

The squirrels scatter in every direction. One of them runs over to Yuri and climbs up his pantleg and straight into his open pocket. Yuri smiles and walks over to Otabek. “Did you want to get rid of that one, too?” he asks, pointing over Otabek’s shoulder toward his back.

Otabek realizes that one squirrel is still curled up in his hood. “Nah. Let him sleep.”

Yuri has a fond smile on his face as they continue walking through the frozen forest. There is a poofy tail poking out of Yuri’s pocket, and every now and then Otabek feels the squirrel in his hood shifting a little.

“If you shit in there I’ll make mittens out of you,” Otabek says over his shoulder after one particularly long-lasting series of movements from his hood.

Yuri gasps like Otabek just insulted the squirrel. “He _wouldn’t_.”

Yuri reaches down to pick a handful of snow and tosses it at Otabek. The snow is powdery and it doesn’t keep its ball-shape and ends up raining on Otabek in small glittery flakes, covering one shoulder and probably half of his beanie in white. “That’s for insulting a friend,” Yuri says in mock sternness.

Otabek raises one eyebrow and brushes snow off his shoulder. “Oh, really?” He moves to crouch down toward the snow glittering on the ground.

Yuri raises a mitten-covered hand as if in warning. “No, don’t you dare. I will fucking make you _eat_ snow if you—”

That’s as far as he gets before Otabek has scooped an armful of snow and tossed it at Yuri, covering him in cold flakes from head to toe.

Yuri sputters and wipes the rapidly melting flakes off his face, but instead of making Otabek do anything, he just crouches down and forms his next handful of snow into a ball, grinning. “Oh, it’s _on_.”

For the next few minutes the air is filled with snowballs and handfuls of carelessly thrown snow as they both try to aim for the weak spots—down the neckline, up the sleeves and under the coat hem. Yuri squeals and laughs as Otabek plants a snow-covered hand on his face. The squirrel in Yuri’s pocket abandons ship, scampering away when Yuri is knocked over and falls on the ground, pulling Otabek with him.

Otabek is halfway surprised Yuri doesn’t make him stop, but instead lies on the snowy ground in a heap of screams and giggles as Otabek meticulously shoves snow down the neckline of his coat.

“Stop, stop, I surrender,” Yuri finally says, raising his hands.

Otabek sits back on his heels beside Yuri and grins. “Flawless victory.”

There is annoyed chatter coming from his hood. “Apparently the squirrel doesn’t think so,” Yuri laughs.

“Oh shut up, mitten,” Otabek says over his shoulder to where the squirrel is peeking out of his hood and giving him a glare. The squirrel makes a noise that sounds like an annoyed child blowing a raspberry, and Otabek has to laugh.

They get up from the ground and start the painstaking process of trying to shake and brush off the snow that’s covering their clothes. Otabek can feel cold water dripping down his back where snow has melted, and concluding from Yuri’s grimace he has similar issues going on under his clothes. The squirrel remains in Otabek’s hood the entire time, even though he can hear it making protesting sounds when he brushes snow off the hood.

They walk back across the forest, and when they get to the mountain, Yuri makes a clicking sound with his tongue. The squirrel pokes his head over Otabek’s shoulder and makes a noise like it’s questioning Yuri.

“You don’t want to live inside the mountain, so off you go, back to your brothers and sisters,” Yuri says softly, extending a hand toward Otabek’s shoulder. The squirrel crawls from the hood to Otabek’s shoulder and up Yuri’s extended arm. It stops on Yuri’s shoulder to nuzzle its nose against his cheek before jumping off and landing on a branch in the nearest fir.

“You look like you belong in the forest,” Otabek remarks, watching Yuri’s natural interaction with the squirrel.

Yuri shrugs. “It’s starting to feel like that too,” he admits. Then he hugs his arms around his stomach and Otabek hears it growl, despite the fact that they ate breakfast not two hours ago. “C’mon, how about some dry clothes and then food?”

Otabek leads the way to the rock wall, muttering that he doesn’t understand where Yuri puts all the food he eats, because the amount of food it takes to keep Yuri full for any period of time is ridiculous.

A little later, after Yuri has crammed a full can of soup and three pieces of crispbread into himself, they’re sitting side by side on the edge of the dark pool of water inside the cave with the heat of the fire at their backs. Yuri drops small pebbles into the pond and watches as the ripples spread out over the surface. He rolls each small rock between his fingers, examining them before dropping them into the dark water.

“I still can’t believe that I’m sitting in a cave inside a mountain and it’s all because of a stupid pebble,” Yuri eventually says, dropping another small stone into the pond.

Otabek snorts out a laugh. He smiles, thinking that he’s forever grateful to that little pebble he turned into dust, because it led him to this adventure of training a stubborn _skogsrå_ , who then turned out to be more like Otabek in nature than Otabek ever thought possible. He fleetingly thinks about saying it out loud, but scraps the idea. Yuri hasn’t really said anything in response to Otabek’s feelings surfacing unexpectedly, so things might get even more awkward than they now are if he started throwing around sentimental crap like that.

“I know now why I kept accidentally seducing you and couldn’t make it stop,” Yuri says conversationally after a moment of silence.

Otabek raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” he asks, his heartbeat picking up its pace just slightly as their eyes meet for a fraction of a second.

Yuri fidgets and drops a few more pebbles into the pond, yellow eyes wandering here and there on the cave walls. Otabek thinks Yuri is so going to slip on the pile of pebbles gathered on the bottom when he next goes to wash himself.

“So, um. Why?” Otabek asks when Yuri remain silent.

“Well, I had feelings,” Yuri says and drops the rest of the pebbles from his hand into the water in a rain of small stones, causing multiple ripples to crisscross on the surface. “Or well, _have_ , because I still do.” There is a blush creeping on his face as he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. Even though Yuri is not using his powers, Otabek still finds himself wanting to kiss the spreading heat on Yuri’s cheeks.

Then Yuri’s words suddenly click.

“Wait, what?” Otabek asks.

“You heard me,” Yuri mutters. “Anyway, it kind of mixed things up a bit. It took me a while to separate what part of the mess was lust and what was… something else.”

“Oh.” Otabek swallows.

“But once I did, I figured out how the seduction thing works a bit better.” Yuri dips a finger into the pond and twirls it, making the water slosh.

The water settles, but Otabek’s heart keeps on trying to pound its way out of his chest.

“So,” he eventually says. “What happens now?”

Yuri shrugs.

Water keeps dripping into the pond, and Yuri is sitting so close, but his slight frame seems rigid somehow. Otabek halts his hand before he can touch Yuri’s shoulder, and the silence in the cave is thick and unwavering like the solid rock walls around them.

 

*

 

That night, going to sleep next to Yuri feels different. Otabek stares up at the crack in the rock ceiling above and it looks the same as it has always looked, but somehow, it’s still different.

Yuri keeps shifting beside him, and Otabek just wants to turn to him, kiss him, something, but somehow it feels like there is this invisible wall between him and Yuri, and he has no idea why. He’d get it if Yuri didn’t reciprocate his feelings, but Yuri almost flat-out said he has feelings. So why are things this awkward?

Beside him, Yuri keeps shifting here and there inside his sleeping bag. From the corner of his eye, Otabek sees Yuri’s eyes glowing yellow in the dark, and he sees the moment when they finally slide down from the ceiling of the cave and onto Otabek. Otabek turns his head so he can look at Yuri.

They stare at each other silently for a long time.

“I don’t know if I’m just accidentally doing something that makes you like me,” Yuri blurts out suddenly. “Like, with my powers. What if I’m making you like me?”

_Oh_. So that’s why Yuri has been acting weird around him.

“Well, you’re definitely making me like you but I don’t think it has anything to do with your powers,” Otabek muses.

Yuri smacks him in the arm. “Shut up, ass. You know what I mean.”

Otabek grows more serious. “Yeah, I know. But how can I show you that this is not just you accidentally seducing me 24/7? Which, I mean, you kind of _are_ , but now in the way _you_ think…” Otabek falls silent, wrinkling his brow. How is this so hard to explain?

Yuri sighs. “Anyway. It’s just, it took me a while to figure out the whole seduction thing and by the time I did, I didn’t know how much I had been doing it already. Like, what if there are lingering effects? So you don’t actually like me, but you just _think_ you do, and I—”

Otabek presses his index finger softly on Yuri’s mouth, silencing him. Yuri’s breaths are warm on his skin, and Otabek shivers despite the warmth of his sleeping bag.

“I didn’t like you at first,” Otabek admits.

Yuri’s eyes flash to him, and he seems to deflate a bit. “Oh?” he says, the word vibrating against Otabek’s finger.

Otabek pulls his hand back. “Yeah, I thought you were kind of an annoying brat,” he says with a smile.

Yuri lets out a small hiss.

“And you did that seduction thing back then too, without knowing what you were doing, and I had these moments when I recognized it was happening and in those moments I wanted, well, _you_ , but it didn’t stop me from thinking you were an annoying brat when the seduction stopped.” Otabek tilts his head and snorts softly at Yuri’s annoyed look. “So no, I don’t think there are any lingering effects. Which unfortunately means that yes, I actually like _you_ , despite the annoying brat factor.”

“Your mom is annoying,” Yuri mutters, pulling his sleeping bag up so it covers half of his face. Otabek can hear the smile in Yuri’s voice, though.

“And yet you still like me too,” Otabek states. He keeps his face carefully neutral as he says this, even though it makes his chest ache in a good way.

Yuri makes a small noise that could be annoyance or frustration or embarrassment, or possibly a combination of all three. He buries his head inside his sleeping bag, leaving only a tuft of blond hair visible outside.

Otabek watches as Yuri shifts inside the sleeping bag, and somehow it reminds him of the squirrel hiding in his hood for the most part of their walk earlier. He smiles fondly and chuckles, and Yuri tugs the edge of the sleeping bag down and glares at him with yellow eyes.

“What are you laughing at?” he grumbles.

“You remind me of the squirrel in my hood,” Otabek responds. “Heat-seeking, kind of fluffy and cute.”

Yuri mutters something that sounds like, “oh my fucking god, why do I like you,” and then pulls the edge of the sleeping bag over his eyes again. There is a momentary silence as the Yuri-shaped lump in the sleeping bag settles, and then Yuri whispers, “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Otabek whispers back and turns to stare at the crack in the ceiling again. It’s the same crack it’s always been, but again it looks a bit different. Otabek smiles at the ancient rock and touches a hand into the wall beside him. The mountain seems to echo his happiness, and the familiar rumble of the earth lulls him toward sleep.

Otabek is almost asleep when Yuri’s hand snakes out of his sleeping bag and seeks Otabek’s hand resting on his stomach. He laces his fingers with Otabek’s, and their hands stay entwined on Otabek’s chest. Otabek smiles wide at the ceiling of the cave, because he feels like he is connected on all sides; one hand resting against the eternal bones of the earth and the other nestled in the fingers of the evergreen forest. He feels small and infinite at the same time, and he wonders if Yuri feels the same.

 

*

 

Otabek’s mind is currently on overload, because Yuri’s lips are on his, and they’re just as soft as Otabek imagined. It feels like his brain has malfunctioned at the sensation of having them pressed on his mouth. The kiss is hesitant but firm, like Yuri put all his determination into it.

As far as first kisses go, it isn’t bad at all. In fact, it’s really good. It just doesn’t happen at all like Otabek imagined.

Not that he spent a lot of time imagining it. But the thought crossed his mind on occasion. For example, he thought about it when Yuri’s squirrel squad appeared to tease him in the forest again and Yuri just stood there, laughing brightly, and Otabek wanted to pull him close and kiss him, squirrels be damned. Or every morning when Yuri has rolled out of his sleeping bag and then draped the sleeping bag around his shoulders on his way to light the fire, and Otabek wanted to wrap his arms around Yuri and kiss him, morning breath be damned.

But when it happens, it’s Yuri who rolls over the imaginary line separating their sleeping bags and plants one hand on Otabek’s cheek, his eyes like two glowing embers as he leans down to press his mouth on Otabek’s.

After a few seconds, Yuri pulls back just enough to lock eyes with Otabek. “Did I break you?” he asks, and Otabek realizes he’s frozen like a statue. He exhales, letting go of the tightness in his shoulders.

“Yeah, I think you did,” Otabek replies, and Yuri smiles smugly.

Otabek grins tentatively at Yuri’s face hovering close to his. “Can you do it again? This time I might be better prepared.”

Yuri snorts, and there is a light slap on Otabek’s shoulder before Yuri leans down again and Otabek’s eyes slide shut, leaving him with the overwhelming sensation of Yuri kissing him fiercely.

The scent of the forest is drowning him. It’s ridiculous and sappy as fuck, but Yuri tastes fresh like pine trees and mountain streams and licorice root. His skin is cool where his fingers slide down Otabek’s arm but his lips are warm. Yuri’s breaths dance against Otabek’s skin and Otabek opens his eyes in mid-kiss to find Yuri staring at him with yellow, blazing eyes.

“ _Damn_ ,” Otabek exhales against Yuri’s mouth.

Yuri bites him lightly on the lip, and the groan it elicits from Otabek is almost embarrassingly loud.

Yuri seems to like it, though, because he grins and drapes himself halfway on top of Otabek, leaning his chin on Otabek’s chest and staring up at him like a content cat. He looks like he would purr if he could.

“So,” Yuri whispers.

“So,” Otabek whispers back and brings a hand up to stroke Yuri’s hair.

They stare at each other in the dying light of the fire until Yuri’s eyes start slipping shut and the yellow gives way to green just before he falls asleep. Otabek watches the process, fascinated, and only closes his eyes when the even breaths against his chest tell him that Yuri is asleep.

He wakes up in the morning when Yuri shifts away and yawns. Yuri’s hair is tousled and his eyes are bleary from sleep, and he’s the most gorgeous thing Otabek has ever seen.

Otabek decides he needs to take a rematch of the kiss, morning breath or no.

 

*

 

“You’re doing the seduction thing—wait, _are_ you doing the seduction thing? I can’t tell anymore,” Otabek groans as Yuri sits by the fire and combs his hair, damp after washing.

Yuri looks up, and in the light of the fire his smile once again has a foxlike wickedness to it.

Otabek wants to kiss that smile, not to make it go away, but to feel it pressed against his lips, then trail his lips down Yuri’s jawline—

“You are. You’re totally doing it,” Otabek manages and runs his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration. Yuri is going to be the end of him.

“Just a little,” Yuri says. “I’m practicing the subtleties, you know.”

Otabek opens his mouth to tell Yuri to practice on someone else, but closes it immediately because there is no one else around for Yuri to practice on.

Also, Otabek irrationally finds that he doesn’t _like_ the idea of Yuri aiming his seductive powers at anyone else. It’s a strange, possessive wrenching in his gut and he runs his fingers through his hair again, annoyed.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ human emotions.

The tug of Yuri’s powers stops and when Otabek looks up, Yuri is staring at him with an apologetic expression on his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Yuri says hastily.

“No, it’s not that,” Otabek says, getting up and pacing to Yuri on the other side of the fire. He sits down and pulls Yuri closer, prying the comb from Yuri’s fingers and continuing the detangling process with careful hands. “I was annoyed at myself.”

Yuri tilts his head to catch Otabek’s gaze. “Why?”

Otabek sighs and then says it exactly like it is. No use trying to cover the truth about his feelings; they’re already way past that point. “Because I wanted to tell you to go practice on someone else and then I realized I don’t want you to seduce anyone else.”

Yuri’s eyes flash, first in surprise, then in amusement. “You’re jealous? Damn, I’m good.”

Otabek groans. “I liked you better when you weren’t so sure about yourself and your abilities.”

Yuri laughs, but the sound gets muffled when Otabek tilts Yuri’s chin up and kisses him. They’re doing a lot of kissing these days. Not that Otabek is complaining. Yuri responds to the kiss with relaxed ease, their mouths moving languidly against one another’s at first. Otabek lets the comb drop from his hand and trails a finger along Yuri’s jawline. Little by little the kiss deepens, and soon it’s as if they’re dancing on the verge of a yearning and lust and one small step could push them off the edge and into oblivion.

“Jealousy is ridiculous,” Otabek breathes into the kiss, pulling back from Yuri a bit. “Humans get jealous over the most ridiculous things. But then again, they also think they can _own_ land and forest, so—”

“Okay, Pocahontas,” Yuri scoffs, pulling back and staring at Otabek with yellow eyes. “You’re seriously thinking about _that_ right now?”

Otabek swallows. He needs to think about something else right now, talk about something else right now, or he can’t keep his hands off.

“Why would you have to keep your hands off, though?” Yuri asks with a quirked eyebrow, and for a moment Otabek thinks that the _skogsrå_ has learned to how to read thoughts. Fortunately, that’s not the case, but it means Otabek needs to stop thinking out loud.

Yuri’s eyes are watching him intently from just inches away. “Why would you have to keep your hands off?” he asks again, studying Otabek’s face in the dim light of the cave.

Otabek can’t explain it. It’s a strange mixture of worry and anxiety and other stupid human emotions he would gladly toss into a fiery abyss along with jealousy. He’s worried that it’s going to change things, that it’s too much too soon. He’s anxious because he feels that Yuri is not certain about any of this. Yuri still sometimes looks at Otabek and wrinkles his brow like he’s not sure if he’s somehow just forcing Otabek to like him, and Otabek doesn’t know how to tell Yuri that this is so much more than seduction and lust at this point. It’s everything Otabek never thought Yuri would be, but Yuri somehow _is_.

It’s the way Yuri looks at his squirrels softly when they appear and climb all over his clothes.

It’s the way Yuri walks in the snowy forest, like flowers might sprout in his footsteps despite the frost in the ground.

It’s the way snowflakes gleam when they land on Yuri’s eyebrows.

It’s the way Yuri touches the bark of a tree and closes his eyes when he’s listening to the voices of the forest.

It’s the way Yuri slurps his soup like he’s never seen food before, and the way he wipes his mouth on his sleeve like some savage.

It’s also the way Yuri fits into this weird secluded life that Otabek has created for himself out here. Otabek can’t help but think that Yuri is not going to want to stay forever. He was raised in the city. He wants central heating and wi-fi and overpriced coffee from chain coffeeshops. He’s going to want to return once he’s in control of his powers.

Otabek silences the quiet voice in his head that tells him that Yuri already is fully in control and could leave at any time.

“Otabek,” Yuri whispers, bringing Otabek back to where he is currently sitting close to Yuri beside the fire. “You look like you’re a million miles away. Come back to me.”

Otabek buries his face in Yuri’s neck, breathing in the scent of his hair, and thinks how ridiculous it is that he was a million miles away, thinking about how he never wants to leave Yuri’s side.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! Message me about this fic or Otayuri or anything else for that matter. ♥  
> -  
> I've run out of ways to thank my friends [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for their support, but I'll try anyway. _Thank you._ ♥


	9. nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's some fluffy smut in this chapter, and the rating has been updated into Mature. Just a heads-up.

Otabek decides to try what solitude feels like again.

He’s going on a supply run to the town they visited together, only this time he’s going alone. Yuri says he’ll stay outside the cave rather than in it, and he walks with Otabek for a while before stopping in the middle of a snow-covered opening. Otabek walks onward, and when he glances over his shoulder he sees Yuri waving at him a little sadly, like he doesn’t understand what’s going on. Otabek turns to face ahead and plows through the snow that in places is easily thigh-deep. He told Yuri it would be easier for him to go alone, because alone he can move faster and he doesn’t need to take breaks, plus he can easily carry as much as they could together. All of it is true, but that doesn’t mean it’s the reason why he’s going alone.

Otabek used to like solitude. In a way he still does, but walking in the forest doesn’t feel the same without Yuri beside him. In a few short months, the _skogsrå_ has wormed his way into Otabek’s solitary lifestyle and made himself such a permanent fixture that without him walking beside Otabek, talking about everything and anything, the snowy forest feels incomplete.

Otabek makes the journey faster alone, but it feels like it takes twice as long as it did together with Yuri. Solitude gives him too much time to think, and despite trying to shake the looming thoughts about Yuri’s departure, they come back to haunt him like a swarm of mosquitoes.

He walks back across the forest with his backpack full and a cardboard box under each arm. For a normal person it would be an impossible load to carry, but Otabek hardly notices the weight. He’s more concentrated on the thoughts that are weighing his mind down.

Yuri appears from between the trees with a squirrel on each shoulder near the spot where Otabek left him hours ago. Otabek doesn’t ask if Yuri has been waiting here the entire time, and Yuri just falls in step with Otabek and they walk back to the cave in silence.

It takes a couple more days before everything unravels and falls apart.

They’ve been practicing the subtleties of Yuri’s powers lately, and mostly it’s just been a series of embarrassments for Otabek. He endures the mock-ballet moves Yuri puts him through and the stupid things Yuri makes him say, because it elicits bouts of laughter from Yuri. Yuri’s laugh is clear like a bubbling mountain stream and it sounds like the wind dancing in the leaves of a birch. Otabek wants to bottle Yuri’s laughter and listen to it every night before going to sleep after Yuri is gone.

_Gone_. It’s such a distressing word.

But sooner or later that’s probably going to happen: Yuri will be gone, and then it will be just Otabek and the mountain.

That’s probably the thought that brings on the rambling. Otabek knows he’s rambling, he can hear himself rambling, but he somehow can’t make himself stop the train wreck of words pouring out of his mouth.

“—So, you know, there isn’t much left for you to do here. I mean, I can’t teach you anything more, so you can leave whenever—”

“ _Stop_.”

Otabek might not be able to stop the outpour of words, but Yuri is. Otabek closes his mouth in mid-sentence, because Yuri’s request seems to bubble so deep from within that there is a hint of Yuri’s power behind it. Otabek finds that he is unable to open his mouth again, and Yuri strides the three steps separating them and brings a hand to rest on Otabek’s arm. The touch releases him from the bounds of the spell but Otabek still remains quiet, watching Yuri as he stares back with disbelieving eyes.

“Where is this coming from?” Yuri asks angrily, and Otabek inhales deeply, shrugging. “You’re talking like I’m going to pack my bags and take off tomorrow.”

Otabek shrugs again, his eyes wandering over the snow-covered meadow where they’re practicing. The snow is full of footprints from Otabek’s misguided attempts at ballet because Yuri thinks it’s funny to make him dance. Otabek is going to miss that too.

“Talk to me, dammit,” Yuri snaps. “I know that look. You’ve had that look on your face constantly for the past two weeks, and I don’t like it. You look like someone died.”

Otabek almost shrugs again, but stops in mid-motion and sighs instead. “I’m just… thinking ahead,” he says. “To when you’re leaving. Going back to the city.” He makes a vague gesture toward the city that’s somewhere to his left.

“Leaving?” Yuri’s eyes flash angrily. He steps even closer, into Otabek’s personal space, and Otabek finds himself backed into the nearest tree trunk. Yuri is not forcing him, and he could easily step aside, but Otabek allows the angry _skogsrå_ to press him into the bark of the tree and crowd him until their faces are almost touching.

Yuri’s warm breaths cloud between them and ghost on Otabek’s skin. His eyes are a blazing furnace of anger, but the yellow burn in them is very controlled. The change in Yuri is so amazing that for a moment Otabek can only blink, marveling at it.

When Yuri came into the forest months ago, he seemed scared and out of place, unable to control his powers when angry, leading to explosive results. Over time, he became less angry and more in control. Now he’s angry again, but he’s also simultaneously in total control.

Otabek is kind of thankful for that, because it means less of a headache for him later on.

“Listen up, _troll_ ,” Yuri says through gritted teeth. His eyes lock onto Otabek’s. “I’m only going to say this once so you’d better bang it into your thick stone fortress of a skull right now.” He waits until Otabek nods before he continues. “You are a fucking idiot if you think I’m going to go anywhere without you,” Yuri says, articulating every word with meticulous care.

The hum of the forest seems to stop for just a second along with Otabek’s heart. Then his heart crashes back into action, picking up its pace until it’s like the heart rate of a mouse, so fast that it’s almost impossible to hear separate beats from the thrumming noise.

The anger in Yuri seems to burn out as fast as it ignited, and he pulls back just a little, looking uncertain all of a sudden.

“That is… unless you want me to leave.”

The thought is so ridiculous that Otabek snorts out a laugh.

“Fuck, _no_.” Otabek’s hands move without conscious decision, wrapping around Yuri’s neck and pulling him close so their mouths crash together almost painfully.

When he frees Yuri from the death grip, Yuri stays close, pressing his forehead against Otabek’s and their breaths mixing in between them. “Are you done moping around and being stupid?” Yuri asks.

Otabek shrugs. “I guess. At least until next time.”

Yuri groans. “There’s going to be a next time?”

“Well, _bergsrå_ skulls are kind of thick,” Otabek says apologetically.

“Rock solid,” Yuri agrees. “Good thing your abs are too, or I wouldn’t be here.”

Otabek glares at him.

Yuri laughs the entire way to the cave as Otabek carries him thrown over his shoulder and grumbles about stupid forest spirits and annoying brats. He tickles the back of Yuri’s thigh when Yuri points out that Otabek is now living up to the expectations of his ancestors—carrying his catch back home like a proper cave-troll.

When they get to the cave and the wall has closed after them, Otabek puts Yuri down after a final graze of his fingers to tickle the back of Yuri’s knee. As soon as he’s back on his feet, Yuri looks at Otabek with mischievous yellow eyes and reaches to tug down the zipper of Otabek’s coat. Otabek leans back into the rock wall as Yuri traces the aforementioned abs under Otabek’s sweater, his fingers cool against Otabek’s skin.

“Yuri,” Otabek says in a low tone. “You sure you want to do this?”

Yuri’s fingers stop and he looks up. The uncertainty in his glowing eyes is clearly visible even in the darkness, but there is determination in the set of his jaw and the stubborn tilt of his head.

Yuri bites his lip and then releases it, inhaling deeply. “Look, I’m trying really hard to not use seduction on you because that would be wrong on so many levels, but if you’re going to stand there and say my name in that tone and question if _I_ want this, then I’m going to lose my nerve and we’re definitely not going to do this, even though I really want to. Don’t _you_ want to, I mean it’s fine if you don’t, but—”

Otabek smiles, because _Yuri_ is babbling now, and since he lacks the power to make Yuri stop the way Yuri stopped him, he does it with the only other way he can think of. He kisses Yuri in mid-sentence, and Yuri stops talking and melts into the touch.

Otabek unbuttons Yuri’s winter coat and Yuri breaks the kiss to step back and get rid of the coat. He drops it on the floor of the cave, followed by his layers of shirts until there’s only a t-shirt left. Yuri hisses, his skin drawing in goosebumps, and he wraps his arms protectively around his middle. Otabek hurries to discard his own coat and sweater in the accumulating pile of clothing. Once Otabek is shirtless, Yuri steps back into his personal space and picks the kiss up from where he left it, tongue licking across Otabek’s lower lip. Yuri presses against Otabek as if seeking warmth, and Otabek wraps his arms around Yuri, pulling him as close as possible without breaking any bones.

Otabek kisses a trail down Yuri’s neck, and there is a burning sensation deep in his groin when Yuri tilts his head back and moans. The sensation is different from the lust Yuri can cause with his seduction. This is not the impersonal physical need Yuri can evoke in a person—no, this is the type of lust that’s laced with emotion. Sometimes emotions are inconvenient, but right now Otabek welcomes them, because they’re a surefire way to differentiate this from Yuri’s powers. Yuri’s _skogsrå_ seduction is forceful and one-sided, but this—Otabek licks his tongue along Yuri’s collarbone and listens to the gasp he gets in response—this is definitely mutual.

Otabek’s heart keeps beating too fast as they half-walk and half-stumble over to where their sleeping bags are lying in a heap over freshly changed fir branches. The cave smells like a mixture of forest, smoke and earth, and it seems so fitting somehow. Otabek pulls Yuri’s shirt off and they tumble down on the sleeping bags, the fir branches rustling underneath them. Yuri’s skin is cold at first but soon it starts to feel warm under Otabek’s touch. Otabek runs his hands all over Yuri’s body like he can’t get enough. Yuri is all silky-smooth skin and fine blond hair, his mouth leaving damp marks on Otabek’s skin as his mouth trails down Otabek’s neck and chest.

Otabek pulls back and stands up so he can get rid of his pants, and once he’s done he turns back and gets stuck staring. Yuri is lying on his back on his sleeping bag, his hair a tousled halo around his head and his eyes gleaming yellow, inviting. As Otabek watches, Yuri trails a hand down the bare skin of his stomach and his fingers come to rest on the front of his pants, unbuttoning them in deliberately slow movements.

Otabek swallows and keeps watching as Yuri shimmies out of his pants, pulling his underwear down with them.

Otabek has seen Yuri without clothes multiple times, but this time it’s different. Yuri’s eyes are half-lidded, he’s spread on his back on the sleeping bags, hand resting on his hip right next to where the rigid line of his cock twitches just slightly against his stomach.

Otabek has seen Yuri without clothes before, but he’s never seen him like _this_. Yuri is the single most gorgeous thing Otabek has encountered in his life.

Yuri shivers and casts a glare at Otabek. “Are you planning on joining me before or after I freeze to death?”

Otabek huffs out a laugh and drops down on the sleeping bags beside Yuri. He pulls his own sleeping bag to cover them, and then lets his warm hands roam underneath the covers, skating exploratively over Yuri’s skin until he’s squirming and biting Otabek’s shoulder, calling him a tease. Otabek hooks one hand behind Yuri’s neck and pulls him into an open-mouthed kiss, eyes closed from the intensity of the touch. His free hand slides down Yuri’s stomach, pausing where the fine trail of hair below Yuri’s navel descends.

Otabek stops, hesitates, until Yuri thrusts his hips up against him and bites Otabek’s lower lip with sharp teeth, growling. Otabek’s eyes blink open to see Yuri watching him, yellow eyes meeting black, and then he ventures to wrap his hand around Yuri’s cock.

The response is immediate and resonates deep in Otabek’s bones. Yuri groans into his mouth and arches to meet the hand around his length. Otabek pushes away the sleeping bag covering them and looks up and down Yuri’s body, then focusing his eyes on Yuri’s expression.

Otabek watches, fascinated, as Yuri’s brows knit close together and his gleaming eyes slide shut, mouth opening to let out small gasps and groans while Otabek works his hand up and down. Yuri’s hips snap up every now and then to meet Otabek’s hand, and there is a slight tremble going across his body like a ripple. In total abandon, he is even more beautiful, and Otabek has to bury his head into the curve where Yuri’s neck meets his shoulder so he doesn’t burst. Otabek inhales the scent of the forest, kissing a trail along Yuri’s collarbone, and his hand speeds up, wanting to feel what it’s like to have Yuri come undone against his skin.

When Yuri does, he’s completely silent, going absolutely still and then shuddering through it like his body is trapped in a personal earthquake measuring around 8 on the Richter scale. Otabek pulls back to see the last pulsing streak of white dotting his hand and Yuri’s stomach.

Yuri blinks slowly, mouth still open and ragged breaths heaving his body, and when he looks at Otabek it steals every ounce of oxygen from Otabek’s lungs. Every time Otabek thinks Yuri can’t look more beautiful, he somehow manages to one-up the previous level of gorgeousness.

Otabek stills his hand and brings it to rest on Yuri’s hip, marveling at Yuri’s dazed expression.

Yuri bites his lip, smiling, and then pulls Otabek down into a languid kiss. Yuri’s forest scent has transformed into something earthy and musky; something that drives Otabek’s senses to the edge and makes him want to taste every inch of Yuri’s skin. Yuri pulls Otabek close to him and his hand snakes in between them. Otabek groans when Yuri’s fingers wrap around his cock, the sound getting muffled into Yuri’s mouth.

Otabek loses himself in the sensations around him; Yuri’s fingers around his length, Yuri’s mouth on his and Yuri’s scent hanging low in the air. Yuri is everywhere, surrounding Otabek, and Otabek gladly lets himself go, surrendering to the oblivion in which he can’t tell their heartbeats apart. Otabek is pretty sure the ground rumbles low beneath them as they merge together under the walls of stone—mountain and forest, joining together in the everlasting dance of nature.

 

 

*

 

They stand on a cliff above the forest, enjoying the bright sunlight of an early-spring day. It’s cold but the rays of the sun are beginning to feel warm again. It is a sign that spring will be here soon to chase away the rest of the snow that’s already beginning to melt, revealing spots of the damp ground beneath. Yuri stares at the landscape spreading in front of them. One of his squirrels is sitting on his shoulder, its fur partially reddish brown and partially silvery gray; another sign of the change of seasons. Yuri absently pets the animal as his eyes slide over the treetops that go on as far as eye can see. “It’s always been like someone is constantly screaming inside my head,” he says thoughtfully. “It never really stopped, and at some point I started to take it as a given. Like it’s normal that there is someone screaming inside your head all the time. I had gotten so used to it that I only noticed it when it stopped.”

Yuri reaches out a mitten-covered hand and Otabek takes it without hesitation. Yuri glances at him and smiles wickedly.

“It stopped the day I dropped your ass unconscious in the campfire.”

Otabek purses his lips and casts a look of dry amusement at Yuri. “Glad my injury was so helpful to you.”

It probably didn’t have so much to do with Otabek falling into the campfire than it did with Yuri accepting his power and not running from it anymore.

“Oh shut up, you didn’t even get a neat scar from your ordeal,” Yuri says with a teasing laugh. “You and your superior healing abilities.”

Otabek is reminded of the scar on Yuri’s arm, the one right above his elbow that looks like a jagged cut. Yuri has never talked about it, but Otabek has seen him stroking it absently every now and then.

Otabek slides his hand up Yuri’s arm, stopping on the spot where he knows the scar is, hiding under the sleeve of Yuri’s parka. “What was your ordeal?” he asks quietly. “If you wanna tell me,” he amends, because he doesn’t want Yuri to feel obligated to discuss his past.

Yuri shakes his head a bit sadly. “Foster care,” he says like it explains it. “There was this kid who used to bully everyone. He had a knife.”

“He bullied you by _cutting your arm_?” Otabek asks incredulously.

“No, it wasn’t like that,” Yuri says. “He was trying to scare me. He wasn’t even close to touching me with the knife, when all of a sudden he seemed to turn on himself. He tried to slash his own wrist with the knife. He kept screaming like the knife was attacking him, _forcing_ him…” Yuri trails off and closes his eyes for a moment. “I realize now that I did that.” His eyes blink open, focusing on the carpet of treetops spreading ahead. The squirrel on Yuri’s shoulder huddles closer to his ear as if sensing his distress.

Otabek nods slowly. Yuri was protecting himself without knowing what he was doing.

“That still doesn’t explain your scar,” Otabek points out, stroking his hand over Yuri’s arm down to his wrist.

“I tried to stop him from cutting himself,” Yuri explains. “I got a few slashes of the knife when I tried to pry it out of his hand. I have another scar across my palm, too.” Yuri pulls off his thick mitten and spreads his fingers, showing his palm. The scar on his hand is smaller and blends into the lines on his palm, so it’s not as glaringly obvious as the one on his arm.

Otabek waits until Yuri has put the mitten back on and then pulls him into a hug. Yuri would try to stop someone from harming themselves, even when the person just pulled a knife on him. Of course he would. The squirrel makes an annoyed noise at almost being crushed between them and jumps on Yuri’s beanie.

“He blamed me for his injuries, even though I tried to help him,” Yuri sighs against Otabek’s shoulder. “Said that I attacked him with the knife and he was acting in self-defense. His word against mine, they believed him.”

Otabek shakes his head sadly. “What a douche.”

Yuri shrugs against Otabek’s arms. “Anyway, that was years ago.”

It’s quiet for a moment as they stand on the mountainside, hugging each other. The squirrel sits perched on Yuri’s beanie and finally jumps on Otabek’s head and climbs down the back of his beanie and into his hood.

“Is this the same squirrel?” Otabek asks, detaching from Yuri so he can glance over his shoulder at the squirrel lounging in his hood. “The one who was sleeping in my hood before?”

“What, you can’t tell them apart?” Yuri teases. “But yeah, it is.”

“Good mitten,” Otabek says and receives an annoyed noise from his hood.

Yuri huffs and slaps Otabek’s arm lightly. “So anyway, I was wondering about the screaming inside my head because it came back.”

Otabek looks at him in alarm.

“Only for a short while,” Yuri hurries to explain. “When you started talking about me leaving. I had to make it stop; make you stop.”

Otabek remembers the feeling of not being able to open his mouth. So there was more to Yuri’s request that day than just making him stop rambling. “Well, did it stop?”

One corner of Yuri’s mouth lifts in a twitching smile. “Yeah, but only after I was convinced you didn’t want to get rid of me. Back in the cave.”

Otabek’s eyes widen for a moment, but then he smiles. _Oh_.

 

*

 

The days grow longer and warmer in strides.

The day when Otabek declares if warm enough for him to stop wearing a beanie is the day Yuri informs him that if that’s the case, he can also shave his caveman beard. “And I can cut your hair,” Yuri says, running his fingers through Otabek’s hair where the longer hair now flops over his eyes and the shorter hair has grown into an unkempt mess at the sides and the back. “You look like a grizzly,” Yuri says softly.

Otabek looks at him dryly. “Why thank you.”

“Hey, I’ve tolerated the hair and the beard without a word for the entire winter, you can indulge me a bit,” Yuri laughs. “I can cut _my_ hair short too, if you want.”

Otabek shakes his head and smooths a hand down the length of Yuri’s hair that now reaches below his shoulder blades at the back. “No, I like it long.”

They sit outside their cave and Yuri ties the longer hair out of the way in a small knot while he carefully cuts Otabek’s hair at the sides and the back. Once he’s done with the undercut, he steps back and squints a bit. “You know what, I actually like it with to top tied up like that,” he says. “Look.” Yuri hands Otabek the small handheld mirror and Otabek holds it at arm’s length, studying the messy knot at the crown of his head.

Otabek shrugs. “It’s all the same to me,” he admits. “If you like it we can leave it longer.”

Yuri beams and puts away the shears. “Okay, now the beard.”

“You seem way too happy about the prospect of the beard being gone,” Otabek snorts.

“I want to feel what it’s like to kiss you when you’re clean-shaven,” Yuri says, unabashed.

Otabek has never shaved his beard so fast. He gets a few nicks in the process, but they’re so shallow they’re almost gone by the time he’s patting his face dry.

Yuri follows the process with an amused smile on his face. He still doesn’t have much beard growth to talk about, probably courtesy to his _skogsrå_ heritage, so the entire concept of shaving seems intriguing to him.

When Otabek lowers the towel, Yuri delivers. He steps right into Otabek’s personal space and traces a finger over Otabek’s cheek, around his upper lip and down to his jaw. Then he cups Otabek’s face in between his hands and pulls him close to a kiss that’s soft and tentative but still leaves Otabek breathless.

“ _Nice_ ,” Yuri says, pulling back. His eyes are mischievous as he slides his hand down Otabek’s neck, stopping to feel the bob of Otabek’s throat as he swallows. Yuri smiles radiantly and kisses Otabek again.

When Yuri pulls back his brows are knit close together. “It’s going to rain,” he informs Otabek nonchalantly, and Otabek doesn’t question where he got the information from. Yuri seems to be so tuned into the forest these days that he gets real-time weather forecasts from the other side of the vast forest.

They gather their things and return to the cave. To Otabek’s surprise Yuri wants to go outside.

“I thought you said it’s going to rain?”

“What, are you made of sugar?” Yuri asks with a teasing voice. “C’mon, it’s just a little rain.”

He’s miles and miles away from the whiny kid who came to the forest with Otabek a few months ago.

They shelter under a rocky ledge of the mountain, huddled close together, watching the spring shower splashing down on the forest and the cliffs. The downpour feels fresh and new, like the awakening of a new season, and the scents of the forest amplify in the dampness. With his beard gone, the air suddenly feels cool against Otabek’s face. Yuri keeps stroking a finger over Otabek’s features like it’s a whole new face for him to explore.

After the rain they walk up the mountainside and sit down on the edge of a cliff at the same spot where Yuri once dropped a book for Otabek to retrieve. Otabek smiles at the memory of Yuri’s face after he climbed back up with the book between his teeth. It’s like he sees the events of the past winter in a different light now, knowing that Yuri struggled with his feelings as much as Otabek did.

Yuri rests his head on Otabek’s shoulder and nuzzles against Otabek’s cheek every now and then. Everything is fresh and new and waking up from winter slumber. The first coltsfoot flowers are pushing their buds out in sunny spots and the streams running from the mountain have swollen into small rivers due to melting snow.

Otabek absently pulls Yuri to his chest and wrinkles his nose as Yuri’s hair tickles it. He turns his head to the side to avoid the blond strands, pressing his cheek against Yuri’s head. In the sunlight after the rain, Yuri looks beautiful, and Otabek says it out loud because he enjoys the way Yuri blushes when he’s complimented.

“Beautiful,” Otabek says again, and watches how the blush spreads up to Yuri’s ears. It’s adorable.

“Yeah, I’m so fucking irresistible, I know,” Yuri groans. “I wonder if I can ever be sure that you like me for me and not because I’m seducing you with my powers,” he then muses thoughtfully, but he sounds more relaxed about it, like he’s teasing Otabek.

Otabek turns his head so he can catch Yuri’s hair softly with his lips. “Trust me, no amount of seductive powers can counter for your attitude for this long,” Otabek replies evenly.

Yuri pulls back and smacks him in the arm. It feels like a tiny mosquito bite, and Otabek grins. “Such a small and angry _skogsrå_ ,” he coos.

“Shut up, _troll_ ,” Yuri growls back.

“You know when you blush in anger it really brings out the green in your eyes,” Otabek says, and when Yuri tries to smack him again he simply catches Yuri’s hand in an iron grip and twists it very gently so he can drop a kiss on the inside of Yuri’s wrist. Then he looks up and meets Yuri’s eyes again. “Well, the blush doesn’t work as well with yellow but I’ll take what I can get.”

“Ugh,” Yuri groans, and when Otabek doesn’t release his hand he does this thing that feels like he’s pinching Otabek in the brain. It’s not exactly painful; it feels very much like a pinch on skin, but it’s inside his head. He can’t really explain how it feels and even thinking about it makes his brain feel a bit weird.

“Stop messing with my head,” Otabek groans, when the weird sensation switches over to another one. This one feels like millions of ants running over his skin. “I taught you too well,” Otabek mutters, finally dropping Yuri’s hand.

Yuri beams. He gets up and offers a hand to Otabek, then sways a little when Otabek hoists himself up. “I always forget how heavy you are,” Yuri grumbles.

“You know, not everyone would take it so well if their partner implied they’re fat,” Otabek points out.

Yuri’s eyes flash like they so often do, first in surprise and then in amusement. “So that’s what we are? Partners?”

There is no need for labels in nature. A coltsfoot is a coltsfoot even if it doesn’t know its name. Two swans are a couple even if they don’t call themselves that. It’s only humans who have come up with a hierarchical system of possessing another person.

There has been no need to label what they are. Otabek isn’t even sure if there is a word in any language that adequately describes what Yuri is to him.

“I am yours, if you’ll have me,” Otabek says. “That’s just the way it is. I don’t need a label for it.”

Yuri’s eyes are a soft green like the moss on the forest floor. “I’ll have you,” he replies in a voice that’s almost a whisper. He sounds like he’s surprised that Otabek is offering him this. “And you’ll have me too, always.”

It feels more binding than any paper contract they could sign in the human world. Otabek presses one hand against the rocky surface and holds Yuri’s hand in the other, and he hopes Yuri can feel the soft hum of the earth through him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) for her infinite patience and helpfulness. Also thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for being my test audience and screaming at me whenever I sent her more to read. ♥


	10. ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew art for the last chapter. Featuring one of the squirrels, Otabek's winter beard and Yuri totally finding it hot af.  
> [See the art here!](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/post/168020090869/worldofcopperwings-otabeard-otabek-looks-good)

“Okay, don’t shit your pants, I’m going to scream now,” Yuri says with a grin one day as they’re walking in the forest, watching spring chase the last remains of the winter away. It’s one of the first warm days. Otabek knows it must be warm because Yuri is not wearing his parka anymore and is only huddled inside two undershirts, a sweater and Otabek’s hoodie.

Otabek wrinkles his brow at the statement. “Um, what?”

Yuri purses his lips thoughtfully and seems to listen to something around him. “It’s this— _melody_ that I keep hearing. I think it’s the forest. It’s singing about spring. And I kind of feel like I need to try and sing it too. I don’t know why? I just know that I have to.”

Yuri lets go of Otabek’s hand and walks ahead a few steps. He stops to a small clearing between the trees and closes his eyes, listening. Then he turns his back to Otabek, draws in a long breath and begins.

Whatever it is, it’s definitely not screaming. Otabek stands back and listens, entranced, as Yuri sings the ancient melody of the forest. At first his voice sounds uncertain and rough, but it grows more confident by the second. It’s a high-pitched tune that rises in waves and seems to describe new growth and rebirth, even though there are no words. The sound carries far over the trees and across the hills surrounding them, echoing back to them in a haunting tune.

Eventually, when Yuri falls silent and turns to look back at Otabek, he looks surprised to find he has an audience.

There are two squirrels on Otabek’s left shoulder and a raven sitting on a branch of a nearby tree. A brown hare shuffles underneath a shrub and there’s even a deer standing a bit farther away. The deer’s tail twitches and it rushes away when the song ends, but the smaller animals stay where they are, staring at Yuri with curious eyes.

Otabek smirks. “Now who’s the damn Disney princess?”

“Funny,” Yuri retorts.

“No, I’m surprised you didn’t attract a grumpy grizzly or something with that melody.”

Otabek realizes too late what a perfect jab he just served to Yuri on a silver platter, and of course Yuri takes it. “Oh, but I did,” Yuri says, as expected, and looks up and down Otabek’s body.

Otabek groans.

Yuri comes over to Otabek and hugs him tightly. “Well, maybe not so grumpy after all,” he whispers when Otabek kisses him on the cheek. “I don’t know what that song was but I had to get it out of my system. It was this weird forcing need to let it out, it’s been there for a few days now.”

“The forest is celebrating spring, it only makes sense it roped you in to be a part of it,” Otabek says softly, and the squirrels on his shoulder move over to play with Yuri’s hair.

“I’ve never been this aware of the seasons changing,” Yuri remarks as they continue walking across the forest, both carrying a squirrel on one shoulder. “In the city it’s not as apparent.”

“Or maybe you’ve never listened to it before,” Otabek suggests.

“Maybe,” Yuri agrees. “So. Did we bring anything to eat with us?”

Otabek huffs out a laugh and produces a muesli bar from his hoodie pocket. He’s learned a long time ago that Yuri will get hungry at the most inconvenient times, so he’s usually prepared. He tosses the muesli bar at Yuri, who catches it with deft fingers and strips the wrapper away. The squirrel on Yuri’s shoulder makes a noise that sounds like a request, and Yuri breaks a small piece off the bar and hands it to the squirrel.

The squirrel on Otabek’s shoulder makes a squeaky noise that can only be interpreted as _‘not fair’_ and jumps onto Yuri, trying to wrestle the muesli bar piece away from the first squirrel.

“Hey, hey, _stop_. You’ll get your own piece,” Yuri scolds. The squirrels stop fighting as soon as they each have their own treat to munch on.

They happen upon a bigger opening in the forest, where the spring sun has warmed the ground. Otabek takes off his shoes and relishes the feeling of the cool soil under his bare feet. The ground feels alive and content, the deep rumble of the earth beneath him singing a low tune of its own, matching the forest’s joy of spring.

Otabek has just time to tune in to the eternal sound when there are a few rushed footsteps from behind him and Yuri slams into his back, trying to topple him over. The squirrels squeak and scamper away, chattering angrily at Yuri.

“Dammit, why can’t you just fall, you stupid rock,” Yuri grumbles, hanging off Otabek’s back like a monkey.

“Oh, I was supposed to fall?” Otabek asks in feigned surprise and immediately tumbles on the ground, taking Yuri with him.

Yuri lets out an _oomph_ as they hit the ground in a tangle of limbs, and annoyedly smacks Otabek on the shoulder with his fist. “You could warn a guy, you know,” he grumbles and rolls off Otabek.

“Like you did before jumping on my back?” Otabek asks evenly, turning onto his back.

“Whatever,” Yuri mutters. He shuffles so he’s right beside Otabek, and they lie on their backs on the ground, staring up at the clouds sailing above.

Otabek has one hand in Yuri’s and one hand pushed into the ground, still cool under the surface. Beside him, Yuri has one hand on a root of a tree, and Otabek thinks they form kind of a circuit, completing a connection between the earth and the forest.

The peaceful hum of the earth is suddenly disturbed. Otabek closes his eyes for a moment, concentrating, because he thinks the ground thrums a warning.

“Someone’s coming,” Otabek says, unnecessarily because Yuri has already perked up and seems to be listening to the wind rustling in the trees.

Otabek sits up and pushes a hand against the ground and it tells him, _two pairs of footsteps like water, completely in sync._

Otabek curses under his breath. “The river twins,” he says, and Yuri frowns.

“Who are they?”

Otabek has met them once or twice in passing, and none of the meetings have been very pleasant.

“They’re _sjörå_ who work with the Agency and they’re often sent to play the _good cop, bad cop_ game. Michele is the scowling idiot who shouts at you with the power of the Niagara Falls and then Sara comes over to soothe things softly like a trickling summer stream.” Otabek pushes his hand deeper into the ground, searching for the nearest stream, and to his relief they’re far away from any source of water. At least the twins won’t be at their strongest here.

“What do they want?” Yuri asks, biting his lip.

Otabek’s eyes glaze over in black as the twins walk into the opening. “I’m guessing _you_ ,” he says. He forces his eyes to return to their human-like state, because even though he is very much on red alert right now, he doesn’t want to _look_ like it.

The twins walk over while Otabek stands up slowly, followed by Yuri. Otabek’s stance is relaxed but that’s only the surface. On the inside he’s wondering what their approach will be and how this will play out.

The twins seem to be aware of what they’re facing, because they stop a short distance away. They have read Otabek’s file in the Agency’s archive. His, and probably Yuri’s, even though there isn’t much information in Yuri’s. But the knowledge he is a _skogsrå_ is probably enough, and if they have even the slightest hunch that Yuri is in control of his powers, they will not do anything stupid. But then again, one can never be too sure when it’s Michele they’re talking about.

The twins are wearing matching black jackets with embroidery that gleams like the surface of the water in sunlight. Otabek snorts quietly to himself. The jackets are probably Michele’s idea. He’s always seemed to be one for dramatics.

“Hello, boys,” Sara greets them in a voice that’s smooth like flowing water. “Otabek,” she acknowledges him with a nod.

“Sara,” Otabek says in mock politeness.

“And you must be Yuri,” Sara says, turning her violet-shaded eyes to Yuri.

Yuri studies Sara from head to toe, and if Otabek had to describe his expression in one word, it would be _unimpressed_. “What’s it to you?” he drawls.

“Feisty.” Sara raises one perfect eyebrow and smiles a bit condescendingly. Otabek would tell her it’s not wise to look condescending around Yuri, but then again, he doesn’t really care if Sara drops unconscious on the ground.

“So this is where you two have been hiding,” Sara says conversationally and allows her gaze to wander over the trees like she’s critiquing their living room furniture. Michele stands beside her and his eyes never stray from Yuri.

Otabek snorts. “It’s hardly hiding when Victor is fully aware where I live,” he says. “He sent me to find Yuri and help him, I did that. What does Victor want now?”

“Help,” Sara says.

Otabek scoffs. “I have no intention of helping him.”

Sara looks like this is exactly the response she was expecting.

Otabek sees Michele’s hands curling up into fists. “Then how about helping your fellow _rå_? Or are you so much above us that you don’t care if we all die?” Michele snaps.

“Mickey,” Sara says in a low voice. “Calm and still.”

That’s the motto of their family, and a deceptive motto at that. _Calm and still like the water_ , until the moment when the dam needs to be broken and then it’s all raging torrential whirlpools and drowning in deep waters. Although they don’t really need _deep_ waters. Otabek has heard the stories of _sjörå_ drowning a person in a puddle the size of a frying pan.

Otabek is so glad they’re meeting the twins on Yuri’s turf and not near a river.

“So what is it you want us to do?” Otabek asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Beside him, Yuri seems to be picking up on Otabek’s attitude and mirroring it, as he pushes his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and tilts his head in a nonchalant way.

“Come to the city, help us find the people who are after the _rå_. We have to get rid of every last one of them if we want to survive,” Sara says, and despite her calm exterior Otabek can hear she is scared.

Otabek narrows his eyes. There is something she is not telling him, and Otabek intends to call her out on it before they leave, but she won’t tell him anything unless she’s afraid of losing them. He calmly uncrosses his arms and lets them drop to his sides.

“Okay, you want us to fight with the Agency. You came here knowing I have zero intention of doing that. C’mon, Yuri.” Otabek turns to leave, steering Yuri away.

Michele stomps his foot on the ground and as Otabek looks back, small droplets of water float up from the ground to surround him and Yuri. “In case you didn’t know, there is a _war_ going on in the city,” Michele all but shouts. “And you two just sit here on your asses and do _nothing_.”

Otabek shrugs and nods Yuri to move, and they step through the barrier of water droplets hovering around them. There’s not enough moisture in the ground for Michele to do much with it; this is just for show.

There are footsteps approaching from behind them, and then Michele grabs Otabek by the shoulder. He tries to whip Otabek around, but Otabek won’t be budged.

Otabek turns to face Michele, eyes glazing black in deliberate slowness. He opens his mouth to ask if Michele wants to make it back to his river in one piece or have Sara carry him in smaller ones, but before he can do anything, Michele drops to his knees and groans in pain. The rest of the water droplets hovering in mid-air fall to the ground in a splash.

“Yuri,” Otabek says in a low voice. “Stop hurting him.”

“He tried to grab you,” Yuri replies coldly, yellow eyes measuring Michele who is holding his head and wailing. Sara looks surprised but doesn’t comment on her brother’s agony, but her shoulders are rigid and she looks like she is ready to burst into action at any moment.

“He cannot move me unless I want to move,” Otabek replies evenly. “The ground has my back.”

“Funny.” Yuri rolls his eyes. Michele stops making pained noises at their feet.

Otabek nudges Yuri. “Let’s go.” They turn to leave again.

Michele scrambles up immediately and barks out a few chosen insults about the size of Yuri’s dick and Otabek’s troll of a mother.

“How about you shut your hole and keep it that way for a moment,” Yuri snaps, turning around. “Or do you want to writhe in pain again? Do you enjoy it? Does it get you off?”

“How about I fog your eyes so you can’t see where you’re going, little _skogsrå_?” Michele spits, and Otabek can see his eyes flash bright blue. Michele steps closer until he’s standing right in front of Yuri. Otabek is not worried for _Yuri_ , though.

“That might be kind of hard to do if you were, say, _unconscious_ ,” Yuri spits back, his eyes blazing yellow.

“I see you’ve trained him well,” Sara says conversationally as she slides over to Otabek, watching the commotion. “ _Boys_ ,” she then calls out in a tone that’s sweet and cool like a mountain spring, and both Yuri and Michele turn to look at her. “Did we really come all this way to threaten them, Mickey?”

Michele shrugs but his scowl doesn’t diminish one bit. He does take a step back from Yuri’s personal space, though.

“Yuri, we are not the enemy here,” Sara says. “The enemy is the one trying to kill us all. And they’re very good at it.”

She sounds scared again, even though she’s trying to hide it.

Otabek squints at her. “So, Sara. What are you not telling me?”

Sara and Michele exchange a glance.

“C’mon, don’t act like I’m stupid. I knew from the beginning that Victor was hiding something when he came to find me, and it almost got me killed in the city. Why would I want to risk my life again for a bunch of assholes who don’t even bother telling me the whole truth?”

The twins exchange another glance, but neither of them says anything.

“Fine.” Otabek turns to Yuri. “I think we’re done dealing with them.”

Yuri just nods, smirking at the twins.

Sara sighs. “You were right,” she says.

“Sara!” Michele hisses.

Sara silences him with a look that says, _we need them_. “About the archive. You were right.”

Otabek looks at her suspiciously like she’s deceiving him somehow. “What do you mean?”

“The archive was a bad idea. Or well, it started off as a good idea, because it was a way for the _rå_ to find others of their kind, but nobody ever stopped to think about what would happen if the information fell into the wrong hands.” Sara sighs. “The archive was accessed and copied by someone, and now all the information that was in the archive is in the hands of the people who are hunting us down.” Sara’s cool eyes reflect embarrassment, like she’s responsible for what happened.

Otabek inhales a deep breath. “When?”

Sara glances up at him.

Otabek takes a step closer, and Michele growls and plants himself between Otabek and Sara. Otabek ignores him, focusing his gaze on Sara over Michele’s shoulder.

“ _When?_ ” Otabek asks again.

Sara sighs. “Last summer.”

Otabek shakes his head in frustration. He should have known.

Victor knew. When he came to find Otabek and tasked him to find Yuri, he knew that all the archive information was hacked. He knew that was the reason why the _rå_ were dropping left and right, but he didn’t say anything.

Otabek is fleetingly surprised no one has come searching for him in the mountains. After all, it states in the archive that’s where he lives. Perhaps he’s deemed less of a threat, living out here by himself.

Otabek’s train of thought is broken as Sara pushes Michele aside and looks at Otabek with pleading eyes. “Please, Otabek. We are dying, and we could really use all the help we can get.”

Michele crosses his arms over his chest. “And if you don’t give a shit about your fellow _rå_ , then consider this: once they have killed us off, they are going to come after _you_.” Michele drawls the words out slowly. “Don’t think for a moment you’re safe here. They’ve already killed human bystanders in the process. They won’t hesitate to tear your puny little mountain to shreds.”

Otabek blinks at the words. That’s definitely something to consider.

“There’s also something else,” Sara says.

Michele casts her a look, but Sara stands her ground defiantly. “The Agency only found out about this _skogsrå_ after the archive was accessed. So whoever has the archive information doesn’t know about Yuri.”

Otabek glances at Yuri, who’s following the conversation, looking confused. Otabek looks from Yuri to Sara and then back to Yuri again, and suddenly it clicks. Otabek turns to glare at Sara in a way that makes her flinch. “Oh, I see. So Victor asked me to bring him here so he’d remain hidden while he was training? And then what?”

Michele scowls, but Sara at least has the decency to look a bit embarrassed. Otabek doesn’t wait for her to answer. “Well fuck you and fuck the Agency. I did _not_ agree to train him so he could be used as Victor’s puppet weapon,” Otabek growls in a low tone.

Otabek knew there was something fishy about the whole ordeal, but he never thought they’d use a seventeen-year-old kid like this, to forge him into a weapon to be used at their whim. Despite his anger he has to admit the Agency’s plan is good. Suddenly producing a _skogsrå_ out of seemingly thin air would be bound to throw the enemy off their game at least for a while.

“Do you do all the talking for him or can he speak for himself?” Michele shoots scornfully.

Otabek opens his mouth, but closes it and glances at Yuri. Yuri’s eyes are still blazing at Michele, but Otabek sees the hesitation in his expression. Yuri’s posture is rigid.

Otabek draws in a breath to calm down and then addresses the twins. “I need to talk to Yuri for a moment. Alone.”

The twins agree, Sara graciously and Michele a bit less graciously, and Otabek leads Yuri away from the opening.

When they’re out of hearing range, he stops Yuri. “Send a couple of loud squirrels to bug them, please. I don’t want them eavesdropping on us.”

Yuri smiles and presses a hand on the trunk of the nearest tree. “You got it.” He makes a clicking sound with his tongue, and there is a chattering reply from somewhere above. Otabek sees a few red flashes as a flurry of squirrels jumps past them toward the opening where the twins are waiting.

“So, what do you think about all this?” Otabek asks. “Seriously, I never thought the Agency would stoop this low.” He knew Victor probably had some plans for Yuri once he was trained, but he never understood the extent of it. He understands now why they sent _him_ to find Yuri. Their own people were probably tracked and followed, so Otabek was their chance to get to Yuri without alerting the hunters of Yuri’s existence. Otabek stops, tapping his chin.

“But _someone_ knows about you,” he says. “There were hunters after you when I found you.”

Yuri startles and his eyes dart here and there over the trees. “Well,” he says after a moment’s hesitation. “As you know I wasn’t very good at hiding my whereabouts, especially if someone knew the signs to look for.”

Otabek has to admit that leaving behind a wake of people with bleeding ears is probably not the most effective way to stay hidden.

“So they might know they were after a _rå_ but they didn’t know much more,” Otabek guesses. “That, or there is a leak in the Agency.”

“It’s doesn’t matter. It all leads to one conclusion.” Yuri shrugs. “Even though I think those two are both idiots, they’re still right. The Agency is not the enemy here. And even though I don’t want to help _them_ , I do want to help the _rå_.” Yuri’s eyes are dark green and his hand squeezes Otabek’s. “They’re our people. And concluding from what you’ve told me, there aren’t that many left.” There is a silent plea in Yuri’s voice, and Otabek knows the meaning behind it. Yuri has never had _people_ before, and now he’s about to lose the ones he hasn’t even met.

Otabek knows Yuri speaks true words, but helping out the Agency rubs him the wrong way so much that he’s not sure he can get over it. These are people who collected an archive of the _rå_ , only to have the information fall into the wrong hands, with terrifying consequences. Otabek doesn’t want to think how many _rå_ are dead because of the existence of the archive.

Yuri lowers a hand on Otabek’s arm. “And you heard what they said. Once they’re finished with the _rå_ in the city, they’ll be coming after you. And if we don’t help them, there will be no one left to help us when that happens. I want to go.”

Otabek sighs. “I guess you’re right,” he says. He’s not very keen on returning to the city to meet a hail of bullets, but if Yuri is going, then he is going.

When they return to the opening, Michele is scowling up at the branches of trees where the squirrels are currently making a racket that would drown out a pack of howling wolves. Sara is leaning onto a tree and very pointedly ignoring the noisy animals.

Yuri clicks his tongue and the squirrels scatter away.

For a moment it’s very quiet in the opening.

Then Yuri speaks, addressing the twins. “We’ll help. But we’re coming on our terms, and not with you. We’ll arrive in the city in a day or two.”

Sara doesn’t seem surprised. “Victor said you would never agree to come with us. He asked me to give you this.” She holds out a sleek black phone. “So you can reach him when you arrive.”

Victor probably thinks he’s so clever, being able to predict what Otabek is going to do. Well, to his credit he _has_ been successful in his predictions twice already, first when asking Otabek to find Yuri and now, sending the twins to ask him for help. Otabek glances at Yuri. Or well, Otabek suspects it’s not _him_ Victor wants as much as Yuri. Mental torturing powers are much more useful than brute force in a discreet battle going on in the city under the noses of the humans.

Otabek takes the offered phone and disassembles it to pieces, examining each piece before pocketing them one by one. “I’ll put it back together once we’re in the city,” he says. He doesn’t want anyone to be able to track his movements unless he chooses so.

The twins take their leave, retreating the same way they came. Otabek presses a hand into the ground to make sure their footsteps really leave the immediate area. Once the feeling of flowing water has vanished, he stands up and pulls Yuri into his arms.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks against Yuri’s hair.

Yuri is seventeen. He can’t possibly know what he’s walking into.

_You’re not much older yourself_ , Otabek’s brain helpfully reminds him. _And Yuri has already been staring down the barrel of a gun once before, and he came through._

“Actually, I’m eighteen by now, probably,” Yuri replies, and Otabek realizes he’s mumbling his thoughts out loud again. “I mean, I don’t know my exact age, but either way it doesn’t change the fact that I want to do this.” He sighs. “Not that I necessarily _want_ to go against people trying to kill me,” Yuri whispers. “But it’s something we have to do, right? For all our sakes.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> As always, my sincerest thanks to my lovelies [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com). ♥


	11. eleven

They spend a day packing the things they’ll be taking with them. This time Otabek wants to travel light so he decides they should leave some of their stuff in the cavern. In a way it feels like a promise that they’ll be coming back some day. Once outside, Otabek pushes his palms against the rocky surface of the mountain and sends his thanks for shelter. Beside him, Yuri also presses a hand into the rock wall and Otabek appreciates the gesture, even though he doubts Yuri can feel the replying hum that envelopes Otabek for a moment. He casts one last glance at the familiar rocky cliffs. _I’ll be coming back. We’ll both be coming back._

As they make their way out of the forest, Otabek takes them the long way round to visit the area where oak trees have taken up space in between the pine trees.

Otabek crouches beside an oak and starts digging the ground between the roots.

“Groundroot,” Otabek says as he extracts a small, chestnut-sized lump from where it’s lodged underneath the roots.

Yuri takes the ivory-colored lump as Otabek offers it. “Is it a plant or an animal?” he asks, holding the groundroot between his fingers and running a finger over the string-like thin roots extending outward from the bony-looking center. When he touches the roots, they fold into themselves as if they can feel the touch. Yuri scrunches his nose and holds the small lump out until Otabek fishes a small glass jar out of his backpack and motions him to drop it in.

Otabek shrugs. “Maybe a bit of both?” he offers. “It’s… kind of a parasite.”

“Okay, so why are we digging up parasitical roots?” Yuri asks, gesturing toward the jar in Otabek’s hand.

Otabek swallows. “We might need them,” he says. “To save someone’s life.”

Yuri looks at the groundroot and then at Otabek. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific,” he says when Otabek remains quiet.

Otabek glances at Yuri. “Well, groundroot forms a symbiosis with a human when swallowed. Essentially it gives them more strength, heightened senses and an ability to heal from wounds and diseases that would kill an ordinary human.”

Yuri looks from the glass jar to Otabek again. “Oh-kay,” he says slowly. “And what’s the catch? Like, why haven’t _all_ humans gotten one?”

Otabek purses his lips. “Well, first of all, groundroot is pretty rare, but mostly it’s because if you don’t feed it with a specific concoction that’s kind of hard to make, the groundroot will turn on you and consume you from the inside out. Essentially, you’d turn into a… well, a _root_.”

Yuri tilts his head and squints at the groundroot through the glass. “Fun times, huh,” he remarks.

“Yeah, it’s why very few people would opt for it, but the ones that do usually really want it, so they’re prepared for the costs.” Otabek doesn’t launch into a rant about how Victor should never have been allowed to get groundroot. Instead, he puts the glass jar into Yuri’s hand and turns to spot the next tree. “Can you hold onto that? We’ll have to see if we can find a few more.”

Yuri takes the jar and glances at the groundroot inside with a look that’s a combination of disgust and awe. “But why would we want to put one into any person, then?”

“It’s only for emergencies, like if someone is bleeding to death,” Otabek says. “And _never_ to an unwilling participant. We are _not_ the Agency.”

Yuri’s eyes widen. “They did that to someone?”

Otabek grimaces. “They did. To save Victor’s friend from cancer. Only she didn’t want the groundroot, and now she has to live with it for the rest of her life.”

“But that’s better than dying, right?” Yuri asks hesitantly.

“Yeah, for someone who _asked_ for it. But healing someone with groundroot without consent is just wrong, because no matter the benefits it’s still something that has a massive effect on the life one can lead.” Otabek shakes his head. “Mila thought the same, so she’s no longer in contact with Victor or the Agency. Which is why we’re going to have to find her first thing when we arrive in the city. We’ll need someone on our side who’s not Agency.” Otabek crouches down beside the next oak and pushes his hand under the roots, feeling for the familiar lumps hiding underneath the tree. He pulls his hand back empty and stands up, walking over to the next tree.

“How many _rå_ do you know that are with the Agency?” Yuri asks, following Otabek and holding the glass jar in his hand.

Otabek spends a moment standing beside the oak and counting the numbers. “Well, there’s Yuuri Katsuki,” he begins, raising one finger. “He’s a saltwater _havsrå_ and Victor’s husband. Victor himself is not of the _rå_ but he has groundroot. He’s the head of the Agency around these parts.” Otabek raises another finger. “Then there’s Seung-gil, a _bergsrå_ like myself. The river twins you already met.” He lifts two more fingers. “Then another _sjörå_ , Phichit. I have not met him but I know of him.” When counting them down like this, the numbers aren’t that big, at least locally. Otabek has no idea of the actual number of Agency workers around the globe, because he’s never been on their payroll and hence has never been in a position to ask.

Yuri frowns. “What about the _rå_ who are not with the Agency? There has to be those as well.”

Otabek sighs, crouching down beside the next tree. “The Agency is pretty good at roping them in. Like I said before, most don’t necessarily agree with everything the Agency represents, but they see the Agency as an option that’s better than nothing.” He finds a distinct lump hiding underneath the roots and pulls it out. “Here, open the jar.”

Yuri holds the jar open and Otabek drops the second groundroot in. “If we find one more we’re good to go. I don’t expect we’ll be needing these at all, but it’s best come prepared.” He doesn’t say that the groundroot can also be used as bargaining chips in case there’s trouble with the Agency. He hopes it doesn’t come to that.

“So, you were going to tell me about the _rå_ who are not Agency folks?” Yuri reminds as they wander around the oak trees, searching.

“Well, there’s one _havsrå_ who’s my friend, JJ.” Otabek sighs. “He was targeted by the people who stole the archive information and he was placed under protection. I don’t know where he is currently.”

They search the rest of the oaks in the area but find no more groundroot hiding anywhere. Otabek takes the jar and puts it into his backpack. “I guess we’ll just go, then,” he says reluctantly. He’s not avoiding going into the city per se, but he’s trying to postpone it as much as possible.

Who wants to walk into a trap willingly?

 

*

 

They’re almost at the edge of the forest when they’re interrupted by an angry squirrel, jumping off a branch and landing on Yuri’s backpack with a thud. It scuttles up the backpack and stops on Yuri’s shoulder, squeaking in a way that sounds like it’s scolding Yuri. Otabek catches the mood but not the meaning.

“What’s up with him?” Otabek asks, nodding at the squirrel.

Yuri clicks his tongue and mutters something, petting the squirrel’s head. “He’s angry we’re going on an adventure and didn’t tell him. He wants to come with us,” Yuri says, turning to Otabek. “I guess I can’t stop you,” Yuri says to the squirrel. “But you’re not going to like the city.”

“You never know, maybe he’s going to love eating trash behind a burger joint,” Otabek grins.

The squirrel glares at him.

“Well, if he’s coming with us, he needs a name,” Otabek says. The squirrel looks vaguely familiar. “How about Mitten?”

If squirrels could flip the middle finger at someone, Otabek suspects this one would be doing so right now. So it’s definitely the one who’s been occupying his hood every now and then.

Yuri tilts his head and smiles. “How about it, Mitten?”

The squirrel deflates a bit, and the reply Yuri receives is short and uppity. Yuri laughs and translates, “Fine, but apparently we owe him a muesli bar.”

Otabek pulls one out of his pocket where he’s stashed a few for Yuri and offers it to the squirrel. The bar is almost half the size of the animal, and Otabek has never seen a happier-looking squirrel than this one as it hugs the muesli bar against itself with tiny paws.

“You’re going to have to stay hidden once we hit the city, though,” Yuri says, petting the squirrel as it sits on his shoulder with the muesli bar. “We need to look discreet, and you can’t really look discreet with a squirrel on your shoulder.”

Otabek glances down at his clothes that have seen better days. “In that case we’re also going to need new clothes, or the squirrel won’t be the most noticeable part of our appearance.”

Yuri looks down at the hoodie he’s wearing. It has several small holes from campfire sparks and the cuff of one sleeve has been partially torn apart by some jagged rocks. Otabek should know, since it’s his hoodie and he was wearing it when the cuff ripped.

They get to the city around mid-afternoon, and Otabek leads Yuri to a secondhand clothing store. Otabek would just be content with getting jeans that are relatively intact and a hoodie that’s not falling apart, but Yuri apparently has to try on half the clothes in the shop.

Otabek stands outside the fitting room and tries not to tap his foot on the floor impatiently. He hears a squeak and a laugh from the cubicle.

Otabek leans close to the fitting room wall. “Wait, are you asking the squirrel if you should buy something?”

“Well, not like I have anyone else here with me,” Yuri says meaningfully.

Otabek pulls the curtain aside enough so he can peek in. Yuri is wearing a pair of black jeans that are slightly too big for him and a gray hoodie. The outfit is topped off with a wine-red biker jacket Yuri found in the women’s section.

Otabek closes his mouth before he starts drooling. Yuri smirks at him through the mirror. The only thing about Yuri that doesn’t seem to fit the picture is the squirrel perched on his shoulder. “Okay, I’m done,” Yuri says. “Mitten, into the backpack with you.” He hands the tags from his clothes to Otabek, who goes to the check-out to pay for them. The cashier looked at them a bit weirdly when they said they wanted to put the purchases on right away, but she takes the money without a second glance as Otabek brings her the tags from Yuri’s clothes.

As they exit the store, they blend a little better into the people walking down the street. Otabek dumps their old clothes into a recycling bin behind the secondhand store, and then he pulls out an old notebook from his backpack. “I know Victor is going to start tracking me the minute I turn the phone on, but I have to call Mila,” he grumbles, searching for her number in the notebook.

He makes the call as quick as possible. Mila doesn’t sound surprised to hear from him, so she probably knows what’s going on in the city at least to an extent. Once he’s gotten Mila’s current address down, Otabek ends the call and tears the phone into pieces again. “Okay, let’s move,” he says, offering his hand to Yuri.

Yuri blinks at the offered hand and then a smile spreads on his face as he takes it. Otabek leads them to the nearest bus stop, where they stand hand in hand, waiting for the next bus.

“I didn’t think you’d want to hold hands like this in the city,” Yuri says.

Otabek blinks. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, it’s probably not very discreet. People might stare.” Yuri looks down.

Otabek pulls Yuri closer by the hand he’s holding. “I don’t give a fuck about what anyone thinks.” Being discreet has some limits, and this he’s not willing to give up, stares or no stares. He hugs Yuri and inhales the scent of the forest. It feels like home in the middle of the city’s cacophony of scents and sounds.

 

*

 

The address Mila gave him is in the outskirts of the city, in a neighborhood that was built next to an industrial area for the industrial workers to occupy. Now the industrial area is pretty much dead and the neighborhood next door doesn’t look very alive either. The houses are old and seem to be falling apart at the seams. Mila lives on the second floor of an old wooden house that looks like it used to be just one home, but someone built some stairs leading to the second-floor balcony, so now it’s two apartments, one on each floor. The scent of groundroot lingers around the house, so Otabek knows it’s the right place.

Mila slams the rickety door wide open immediately after Otabek knocks, so she must have been waiting behind it. “Beka, it’s good to see you,” she says, pulling him into a hug. The hug is tight; a subtle reminder that she’s stronger than a human these days.

“Mila,” Otabek greets her when she lets go. “You look good. Not at all like a root.”

Mila rolls her eyes. “You’re not even past the threshold and already you’re insulting me?”

Otabek grins and pulls Yuri inside with him. “You wouldn’t know it was me if I didn’t,” he says, closing the door after them.

Mila looks at their entwined fingers and Otabek can see her arrive at the right conclusion about the gesture, because she smirks at Otabek. Then she sighs theatrically and gives Yuri a look. “How you stand to be around this ill-mannered troll is beyond me,” she says.

Yuri just smiles a bit and shrugs.

“Not very talkative, are you?” Mila walks into the kitchen without waiting for an answer, and there is the sound of dishes being pulled out. “You guys hungry? I made bread with pesto and some tofu casserole, and there’s a salad coming up, too. I don’t know why but my root seems to like tofu for some reason.”

“Mila is kind of an acquired taste, she takes some time getting used to,” Otabek mutters, pulling Yuri close to him.

“I heard that!” Mila shouts.

“And she hears everything,” Otabek adds. Yuri smiles again, but he seems content not saying anything.

There is a clanging noise that doesn’t come from the kitchen. Otabek whips around, facing the closed bedroom door, and without thinking he pushes Yuri behind him. “Mila, is there someone else here?” he asks in a very low tone. He knows Mila can hear him.

The noise from the kitchen pauses. “Oh yeah,” Mila says and comes to lean on the doorframe. “S’okay, Izzy, come on out.”

The bedroom door opens, revealing a familiar sight, only not one Otabek was expecting. “Isabella,” he breathes and steps forward. Isabella laughs and rushes over to hug him. “I did not expect to see you here,” Otabek says.

“Well, where else was she supposed to go after they whisked away her fiancé? No one at the Agency gives a fuck about the spouses if they’re _plain human_ ,” Mila says bitterly.

“Is JJ safe? Where is he?” Otabek asks after Isabella lets go.

“He’s safe,” Isabella says. “I haven’t heard from him in a while, though.”

Otabek notices that Yuri seems to shrink into himself. Yuri hangs back quietly, studying the scene in front of him but not participating. Otabek holds out his hand and Yuri steps closer, takes it hesitantly. “I suppose some explanations are in order.”

Mila whirls around to the kitchen again. “Sit down, I’ll bring food. We can talk while we eat.”

“Yuri, this is Isabella. She’s JJ’s fiancée,” Otabek explains. “This is Yuri, he’s of the forest.”

Isabella offers a hand and Yuri takes it hesitantly.

“Yuri,” he says. “Recently discovered _skogsrå_.”

“Isabella,” she replies. “Just a boring human.”

Yuri laughs at this. “Sometimes I wish I was too,” he says.

“Oh, you don’t mean that. You get freaky eyes and can do cool stuff. So, tell me, what can you do?” Isabella says, all smiles. For some reason Yuri looks less awkward near Isabella, and Otabek casts one last glance at him to see he’s okay before going over to the kitchen to see if Mila needs help.

“So what’s the Agency done now?” Mila asks without turning to look at him. She’s chopping vegetables on a cutting board and sliding them into a salad bowl.

“They sent me to find the _skogsrå_ and train him because they wanted to keep him a secret. And now they want to pull him out, lock and load, point him at the bad guys like some perfect secret weapon.” Otabek moves over to the sink and starts washing tomatoes without asking permission.

Mila hums under her breath and fishes out another cutting board from the cupboard, handing it over. “And what’s he to you?”

Otabek supposes it must be visible, the way he orients himself around Yuri and constantly seeks contact with him. “He’s everything,” Otabek simply says.

Mila looks at him, then, with eyebrows raised. “Well look at that, never thought I’d see the day.” There is a teasing smile on her face. “So that’s why I don’t suppose you’re very happy about him being the Agency’s weapon.”

Otabek plucks a knife from the knife block and starts chopping tomatoes. “I wouldn’t be happy about him being the Agency’s weapon even if we weren’t—” He doesn’t have the words to finish the sentence, but Mila nods like she understands.

“Oh, I know, and I’m with you on that. So what are you going to do about it?” Mila lowers the knife and lifts the cutting board, sliding the sliced cucumber into the salad bowl.

Otabek slices the rest of the tomatoes before answering. “I’m thinking we should form our own agency.” He thought about it when Victor came to him last fall, and he’s thinking about it again. “Like a protection squad, but with better morals than Victor and his folks.”

Mila puts the cutting board down and reaches for the chopped tomatoes. “Well, you’d just need to be better at dealing with the _rå_ than the current Agency.”

There is a momentary silence in the kitchen.

Then they both burst out laughing at the same time.

“Which, you know, isn’t all that hard to accomplish,” Mila cackles.

“Does that mean I can count on your help?” Otabek asks, wiping the knife before pushing it back into the block.

Mila holds out a hand and grabs Otabek’s forearm. “Always,” she says solemnly.

When they emerge from the kitchen, Yuri and Isabella are sitting on the couch and Mitten is basking in a sudden influx of attention.

“Look, Mila. He’s so fluffy,” Isabella says, beaming.

“He better not shit inside,” Mila says dryly and goes to set the bread basket on the table.

Yuri looks from Mila to Otabek. “I can see why you two get along so well,” he mutters.

“Oh look, it talks!” Mila gasps, and Yuri closes his mouth again, looking sour.

“Mila, don’t be an ass,” Otabek says.

Mila just throws him a radiant smile and goes back to the kitchen to get the casserole from the oven.

They sit at the table that has two long benches on each side instead of individual chairs. Yuri eats with his usual appetite and Mila seems happy that her cooking is appreciated. Otabek sees Yuri sneak a glance at Mila as he reaches for his sixth piece of bread, and Mila pretends not to notice. Mitten is sitting on the table beside Yuri’s plate and munching on some pumpkin seeds Mila produced from the kitchen.

“So what’s happening?” Mila asks after they’re more or less finished with their food and Yuri is on his eighth piece of bread smothered in pesto.

Otabek sighs, pushing his plate away. “We agreed to meet with the Agency because they asked for our help in their quote-unquote _war_ against the people hunting the _rå_.”

“Who did Victor send?” Mila asks. “No wait, don’t tell me. It was the twins, wasn’t it?”

“Good cop, bad cop, as usual,” Otabek says with a nod.

“So what do you need from us?” Mila asks, pointing at herself and Isabella.

Otabek ponders it for a moment. “Well, I didn’t know you’d be here,” he says to Isabella. “But since you are, could you get word to JJ? We might need reinforcements at some point.”

“Of course,” Isabella says. “I’m hosting a private server in Mila’s bedroom, I’ve been working on it so I can get messages through without being tracked.”

Otabek raises his eyebrows.

“Computer stuff. Izzy is a wizard, really,” Mila says, waving her hand. “I don’t understand half what she’s talking about but it seems to work.”

“And I guess we’ll be needing headquarters, some place to operate from,” Otabek looks at Mila questioningly.

“Mi casa, su casa, you know the drill,” Mila says with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “It’s small but I guess it’ll do. Plus there’s no one living in the downstairs apartment right now, so we don’t have to worry about waking them up if we stomp around in the middle of the night.”

Yuri is munching on his bread quietly, offering a piece to Mitten every now and then. Otabek reaches for his hand on the table and closes his own around it. Yuri gives him a small smile and settles a bit closer to Otabek on the bench. He looks tired, and when Otabek thinks back he understands why Yuri must feel exhausted. A five-hour hike to get out of the forest, then another hour along the road to get into the city, followed by a shopping spree, a bus ride and a full meal. It’s a small wonder Yuri isn’t asleep against Otabek’s shoulder by now. Otabek glances at Yuri. Well, it’s not very far from happening.

“Is there anywhere we can sleep?” Otabek asks, nudging Yuri who is starting to nod off against his side.

“I figured you’d need a place to crash, so yeah. You have to make do with the closet, though,” Mila says apologetically. “There’s a mattress in there but not much more.”

“That’s all we need. We’ve been living in the forest for months, a mattress is a luxury,” Otabek laughs.

Mila leads the way to a small door in the living room wall. She’s right, it’s not much more than a walk-in closet. There are two mismatched mattresses and a pile of blankets and pillows inside. The mattresses cover the entire floorspace, so they dump their backpacks on one corner of a mattress and go brush their teeth in Mila’s tiny bathroom.

It’s weird to look at himself in the mirror, Otabek realizes. In the wild he doesn’t really see his reflection unless he’s shaving or checking his neck for ticks or something. Now he stares first at himself and then at Yuri in the mirror as they stand side by side, brushing their teeth. Otabek has never really noticed how fair and blond Yuri is compared to him; a perfect contrast to his darker eyes, skin and hair.

Yuri looks like he might collapse if he got in the shower, so instead of showering, they wash their faces and wipe their bodies from waist up with a washcloth. Otabek casts a wistful glance at the shower cubicle, but he can wait until the morning to properly enjoy the possibility of washing under running water that’s actually warm. It’s one of the few luxuries he sometimes misses when living inside the mountain. Yuri works his hair into a loose braid over his shoulder and then pushes Otabek out of the bathroom so he can use the toilet.

Otabek waits for his turn to use the facilities outside the door and steals a toothpaste-flavored kiss when Yuri brushes past him on his way to bed. When Otabek comes out of the bathroom he stands for a moment in the closet doorway, watching Yuri. Yuri is lying sprawled on the mattress inside the closet, huddled under what looks like a dozen blankets. His braid is already falling apart around his face and he’s fast asleep as Otabek pulls the creaky closet door shut behind himself and crawls in beside Yuri.

The closet has no windows so it kind of feels like a cavern, but the walls are wood instead of rock and there’s the sound of electrical appliances from all around him. He can also hear the muttered conversation from Mila’s bedroom. Sleeping on an actual mattress feels weird, but Yuri’s scent is familiar and soothing, and Otabek snuggles closer until he’s right against Yuri’s side and can feel Yuri’s regular heartbeats against his own.

Otabek would rather stay here forever than face the Agency or the real enemy looming somewhere in the city.

Unfortunately, he can’t always get what he wants.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back in the city again! Thanks to everyone who has left kudos and comments and I hope you're still enjoying the story. ♥  
> -  
> I'm on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open and you can message me about my fics or otayuri or whatever you like.  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com). Also thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for being my lovely test audience.


	12. twelve

The morning comes in the form of Mila, who pulls open the closet door and shouts that there’s pancakes. Yuri responds by promptly pulling a pillow over his head, and Otabek smiles as he pries the pillow away and Yuri whines miserably. Otabek wasn’t even aware that Mitten was sleeping with them, but now he finds the squirrel curled up against Yuri’s neck and blinking sleepily as Otabek tries to wake Yuri up.

Otabek strokes Yuri’s hair off his face and kisses his temple. “C’mon, both of you, or I’ll eat all the pancakes and you’ll get none.”

Yuri cracks one yellow eye open and pouts. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Yuri grumbles that Otabek is a mean troll, but he gets up from the mattress and looks around him, bleary-eyed. Yuri blows a strand of hair off his face in a huff and reaches to pull a hoodie over his head. Then he saunters off into the bathroom with Mitten on his shoulder. Otabek doesn’t point out that the hoodie is his, because he kind of likes it when Yuri wears his clothes. Otabek pulls on a t-shirt and jeans and emerges from the closet barefoot, raking his fingers through his hair. It’s fallen out of the knot he usually keeps it in and now the dark strands fall over his eyes in tangles. He’s going to have to ask Yuri to braid the top so it’s not in his way all the time.

“Morning, sleepyheads,” Mila says from where she’s sitting at the table with Isabella.

Otabek runs his fingers through his hair and yawns as he waits for Yuri to come out of the bathroom.

Mila pours two more mugs of coffee as soon as they are sitting at the table. “Are you meeting with the Agency today?”

Otabek shrugs, pulling the pancake dish closer and forking a few pancakes onto his own plate. “I’m going to call Victor once we’re in the city. I can’t risk calling from here because I’m sure he’s tracking the phone Sara gave me.”

Isabella’s eyes flash in his direction. “Did you take out the battery and the SIM card?” she asks.

“I’m not stupid,” Otabek says, raising one eyebrow.

Isabella shrugs. “Just making sure.”

“That I’m not stupid?” Otabek counters.

Isabella grins. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Yuri, who so far has been sipping his coffee silently and shoving pancakes into his mouth at an alarming rate, suddenly focuses on the glass in Mila’s hand.

“What is _that_?” Yuri asks, watching Mila down the liquid that looks like mud water. Mitten glances up from the half-a-pancake it’s been stuffing into its small squirrel face and lets out a questioning chirp at Yuri’s tone.

Mila grimaces as she swallows the last gulp and then pats her stomach. “Root-juice. You know, so it doesn’t start eating _me_.”

Yuri looks like he’s suddenly not that hungry anymore, which is saying something because Yuri is always hungry.

“What is _in_ that?” Yuri asks, looking fascinated in that way people do when they _kind of_ want to know something but are sure it’s gross. His eyes linger on the now-emptied glass that has some dark, goopy residue in the bottom.

“All natural stuff,” Mila says with a wink. “Some fungi, tree bark, mold, just a dash of soil…”

Otabek looks at Mila as she lists the ingredients. Mila seems a lot better than the last time Otabek saw her. Back then, she was angry and bitter and wanted to rip Victor’s head off for inserting the groundroot into her without asking. Well, she probably still wants to rip Victor’s head off but she seems to be more at ease with the fact she now has to live with the root inside her.

Otabek briefly wonders if she did permanent damage to herself in the beginning, when she refused to feed the root. Currently she looks fine on the outside, but that doesn’t really tell much about what’s happening on the inside.

In a way that’s very accurate of everyone. It’s impossible to tell what’s going on with a person by just looking at them.

Otabek’s eyes shift from Mila to Isabella, who is rolling her eyes at Mila’s theatrical presentation of the root-juice ingredients. Otabek knows that Isabella is probably worried sick about JJ, even if she doesn’t flaunt it.

Yuri finishes his coffee and stretches like a content cat. Mitten gives up on trying to eat half a pancake and scurries over to Yuri’s hood, where it curls up. Well, technically it’s Otabek’s hood, even though the hoodie is currently on Yuri.

“So what’s the plan?” Yuri asks, leaning his shoulder against Otabek’s.

Otabek swallows the last of his pancake and washes it down with coffee. “We go into the city and call Victor. Then we meet with him and find out what the Agency knows about the people who are after the _rå_ and what do they want from us.”

 

*

 

Victor answers after the fourth ring like he wasn’t waiting with the phone in hand for Otabek’s call.

_“Otabek,”_ Victor says.

“Victor,” Otabek replies in the exact same tone. “We are here. Send a limo.”

_“Where?”_ Victor asks.

Otabek rolls his eyes and Yuri chuckles from where he is listening in on the call beside Otabek. “Like you haven’t been tracking my location from the moment I turned the phone on,” Otabek mutters. “We’re at the city library.”

Otabek ends the call, and Yuri inches closer on the bench in front of the library building. Mitten is still hiding in Yuri’s hood, although the squirrel-shaped lump is pretty visible so perhaps Yuri should ask the squirrel to migrate into a pocket or something.

“Limo?” Yuri asks thoughtfully. “So does the Agency have a lot of money?”

“No, that’s just Victor,” Otabek replies. It’s maybe one of the reasons he doesn’t like Victor very much. Victor has always gotten everything he wanted by paying for it. When he wanted a position with the Agency, he kept shoving money at them to show what a valuable asset he could be, until they accepted. When he wanted groundroot, he just kept pouring money around until he was approved for it by the board. And when he wanted groundroot for Mila, he paid someone off the record to find him one. Everything Victor has ever achieved has been because he has money.

Well, everything except for Yuuri Katsuki, Otabek amends quietly to himself. Yuuri Katsuki has never been for sale at any price. He made it very clear when Victor first tried to impress him by buying him everything he could ever ask for.

A sleek, black car stopping in front of the library shakes Otabek from his thoughts. He wants to grab Yuri’s hand but thinks again when the window slides open and Victor is staring at them evenly from the backseat.

“Don’t let him know how much you mean to me,” Otabek mutters very quickly and very quietly, hoping that Yuri catches his words but Victor doesn’t. Otabek curses himself for not talking it through with Yuri before, but he only came to think of it the second he saw Victor’s smirking face. He doesn’t want Victor to be able to play them against one another. At this point it’s probably no use crying over spilled root-juice, though, because he doesn’t know what the twins have told Victor about their encounter the forest. Victor probably already has some kind of an idea what’s going on between them.

Yuri’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second at Otabek’s words, and then he nods as they get up and walk over to the car.

“So, this is the _skogsrå_ ,” Victor says, measuring Yuri through the car window.

Yuri tilts his head. “So, this is the douche everyone has been telling me about.”

Victor’s eyes flash, amused. “Everyone? Who’s everyone?”

Otabek forces a neutral expression on his face. “Everyone who knows you, obviously,” he says coolly.

The car is filled with the overwhelming scent of salt and groundroot. It’s a scent Otabek has come to associate with Victor, so it’s not on his list of favorite scents in the world.

Victor is eyeing them quietly the entire car ride to wherever they are going.

Otabek stares out of one window and Yuri stares out the other. Otabek’s hand aches for not being able to touch Yuri, but he forces his fingers the remain still on his lap.

Yuri’s eyes shift from the window to the interior of the car and then on to Victor. Victor stares back with no hint of emotion on his face. Otabek looks at the exchange of stares like it’s a tennis match. On the outside it doesn’t look like much, but it feels like a battle of wills is ongoing beneath the surface.

The Agency headquarters is not located in the same place as the headquarters Otabek visited a few years back. Of course it makes sense to move shop, because the if the hunters know the location, what’s stopping them from blowing it to bits.

The building they enter looks like an apartment block. Victor opens a door in the ground-floor hallway and leads them into a staircase winding down, and Seung-gil, who was driving the car, follows them and closes the door with a click. They walk down for at least two stories and come into a long hallway with doors on both sides. Otabek briefly wonders how much it cost Victor to build this secret underground base. He also realizes that Victor must have an immense amount of trust to lead him and Yuri directly here instead of talking to them on neutral terrain.

That, or this is a trap.

Otabek eyes the hallway warily. He glances at Seung-gil who walks behind him. Seung-gil stares back with blank eyes. He’s stony-faced as ever, and Otabek doesn’t fail to see the irony in it.

Beside him, Yuri looks like he wants to grab Otabek’s hand, but resists because of what Otabek said before getting into the car. Then again, with the twins having reported their own account of what happened in the woods, Victor may already have come to some conclusions no matter what they do now.

At the end of the hallway, Victor presses his fingers into a scanner and the light flashes green. The door slides open into the wall, revealing Victor’s office.

He’s gone to some lengths to make it seem like the office is located on top of a skyscraper. There are massive screens made to look like windows covering one wall, with video feed of scenery above the city. If Otabek didn’t know they are deep underground, he’d think Victor teleported them somewhere else. It’s a disconcerting feeling, to _feel_ he’s underground but have his eyes tell a different story.

Yuri shuffles his feet beside him, and Otabek realizes how tuned in he is to Yuri’s subtle movements and shifts in his posture, because the small movements are probably not visible to anyone else. He can also smell the slight change in Yuri’s usual forest scent. There is an edge to it, like nervousness, although Otabek doubts that’s noticeable to anyone else either.

Victor strolls behind the large desk and sits down in a leather chair in front of the wall of screens that looks like a window. He looks like a parody of a mafia boss. All that’s missing is a white Persian cat on Victor’s lap.

“Please, sit,” Victor says, gesturing toward the cushioned chairs on the opposite side of the desk. Seung-gil positions himself beside the door like a good puppet bodyguard.

“For someone who seems to be very afraid of being blown to bits you certainly don’t try to hide your whereabouts,” Otabek points out as he plops down in the chair. “Your car stands out like a sore thumb and yet you drove it directly here without a care in the world,” Otabek continues when Victor quirks a questioning eyebrow. “It’s like you don’t care at all if you’re followed.”

“Well, they might know where we are, and they can blow the building above to pieces with nukes if they wish, it will have no effect on us here,” Victor says pleasantly. “But so far they have never gone against a fortified place.”

Otabek wonders again how much it cost Victor to build this place. If the entire underground block can sustain a nuke, the price tag must be astronomical. In a way it’s funny to think about Victor being able to afford approximately everything on the planet, but still he requires the assistance of a lone mountain warden and his _skogsrå_ apprentice. It makes Otabek feel like they have a strong position in the negotiations.

Well, if they ever make it out of the place. Otabek glances at Seung-gil, guarding the door. Well, Yuri can easily make him writhe in pain, but there is seemingly no way to open the door from the inside, at least that Otabek can see. Then again, Yuri can always just make them open the door... But even with this knowledge, the whole situation is starting to feel like a trap.

Otabek startles slightly as a small side door to the office slides open and there is a whiff of salt coming through the doorway. The scent is familiar, because it reminds Otabek of JJ, but he knows it must be Katsuki before he actually sees the figure stepping through the doorway.

Victor looks positively delighted to see his husband. “Yuuri,” he breathes.

Yuuri Katsuki, the only weak spot Victor Nikiforov has. If anyone wants to get to Victor, they will attack Yuuri. Which is probably why he’s kept here, protected like a porcelain doll. Probably has an underground saltwater pool or whatever, knowing Victor and his lavish spending habits. What’s a few million spent if it keeps Yuuri happy?

Otabek squints at the black-haired _havsrå_. He can’t imagine JJ happy locked up in a cellar, so he doubts Yuuri is either. But that’s a marital issue between him and Victor, so none of Otabek’s business. Unless he can somehow use it to their advantage.

Yuuri comes in silently and regards Victor’s guests with calm eyes. He goes to stand beside Victor’s chair and nods at Otabek. Then he turns his measuring gaze to Yuri.

Yuri stares back equally as calmly, but from the corner of his eye Otabek sees the way Yuri clutches the hem of the hoodie he’s wearing with the hand that’s hidden from Victor and Yuuri’s point of view.

There is a moment of startled confusion when Mitten pushes his head out of Yuri’s hood, climbs on his shoulder and chirps a greeting. Victor and Yuuri stare at the animal incredulously and Seung-gil takes a step toward Yuri before concluding the animal on his shoulder is not a threat.

“Good thing Makka is in our bedroom, he’d flip if he saw a squirrel,” Otabek hears Yuuri mutter fondly. Victor reaches out a hand to grab Yuuri’s, and his blue eyes trail up to meet Yuuri’s brown ones.

“This is Mitten,” Otabek introduces, and for a fleeting moment both Victor and Yuuri smile.

No person who smiles at a squirrel can be thoroughly evil, Otabek thinks in passing. However, he decides it’s time to return to the matter at hand.

“What do you know about the hunters who are after the rå?” Otabek asks, turning to look at Victor again.

“Straight to business, as usual,” Victor says, tearing his eyes away from his husband. “You know I can’t tell you anything confidential before I have your signed agreement that you’re at my disposal to help in this matter.”

Otabek looks at Victor incredulously. “You know if you want my help, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“Oh, but it’s not _your_ help I want so much,” Victor says. “No offense, of course.”

“None taken.”

Yuri turns to look from Katsuki to Victor, and his eyes flash yellow in determination. “How about you just tell us what you know about the hunters?” Yuri asks. “If you want _my_ help, you’re gonna have to do better than that,” he repeats Otabek’s words with a smirk.

The corner of Victor’s mouth twitches. “I knew it was a bad idea to have you train him,” he says, directing his words to Otabek. “You’ve been filling his head with nonsense.”

“Hardly,” Otabek replies. “I’ve just told him a few select truths.”

“Truths not colored by your own prejudices at all, hmm?”

“I just tell it the way I see it,” Otabek says.

“It wounds me that you have such a low opinion on me,” Victor sighs. “I just want us all to get along.”

At least he didn’t say he wants them to be _friends_ , because that would be a bit too much.

“So, can we move on? Sara already told us the archive was hacked,” Otabek informs Victor.

Victor looks annoyed. “Yes, she told me the matter was discussed.”

Despite Victor’s explicit instructions not to, Otabek is sure.

“So, as you know, all the information was copied,” Victor says. “Everything we had in electronic form up to that point.”

“Yuri is not on the list,” Otabek says. “That’s why you wanted to train him in secret by someone who’s not directly associated with the Agency, right?”

Victor looks annoyed again. “Am I really that transparent?”

“Yes,” Otabek says, but he’s surprised that Katsuki echoes him.

“ _Yuuri_ ,” Victor gasps like he’s been mortally wounded and looks at his husband who is standing beside him.

“I love you but you really are that transparent,” Yuuri says. There is a small smile playing on his lips, and Otabek sees him squeeze Victor’s hand that’s still in his.

Yuri snickers in his seat and looks a little less nervous. Otabek kind of likes Yuuri Katsuki, and he can see Yuri shares the sentiment. Yuuri seems very down-to-earth, which is kind of funny considering he’s of the sea.

Well, metaphors aside, now they just need to deal with Victor.

“Victor, can you just cut the bullshit and tell us what you know in clear terms and also what you want from us, or from Yuri specifically?” Otabek says, trying for a friendlier tone. Doesn’t hurt to have Victor in a good mood if they’re going to be working together.

“That’s also what I’m kind of wondering here,” Yuri says and absently scratches Mitten’s head. “You have so much money that you could hire everyone in the city to chase after these people. Why would you need us?”

“First of all, it’s a matter of discretion,” Victor says. “We don’t need humans to know what is going on, and a small group can act more discreetly than a large army. Trust me, the hunters also know this. They are not many in numbers but they’re very efficient. I want that same from my team.”

_We’re not your team_ , Otabek wants to say, but opts to stay silent. _Also, look at you talking about humans like you aren’t one. Groundroot or no, Victor, you’re still human._

“And second?” Otabek asks.

Victor squirms. “We need to work together, and as you know there is some… _division_ in the way the _rå_ view the Agency.”

Otabek casts an amused glance at Yuri and chuckles. “Yeah.”

“We need someone who’s not Agency to rally up the ones who are opposed to working with the Agency,” Victor says.

“So you turn to the one person who is firmly opposed to working with the Agency?” Otabek asks. “Interesting approach.”

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?” Victor asks. Otabek can hear the smirk in Victor’s voice even though he tries to hide it. “If I can get the one guy who hates us more than anything to work with us, the rest should be easy.”

Otabek bites his tongue to not refuse cooperation on the spot. _This is not about me_ , he thinks. _This is about every rå. The ones I like, the ones I dislike, the ones I love_. His eyes shift to Yuri, who is staring back at him, faintly glowing eyes unreadable. “So you _do_ need me after all,” he mutters under his breath. He knows Victor can hear the words just fine, but then again, he meant them to be heard.

Victor pulls open one of the desk drawers and takes out a folder that he places on the desk. “I’m going to give this to you. It has all the information we have gathered so far. You’ll also have equipment and money at your disposal.”

“And in return?” Otabek asks, eyeing Victor and the folder.

“In return you gather up the forces and help me get rid of this menace. And you’ll get paid, of course.”

Victor’s eyes are shifty. Otabek stares at the slight twitchiness in Victor’s movements as he pushes the folder across the table.

Victor doesn’t need to hire the entire city to chase after the hunters: he’s just hired Otabek and Yuri to do it. And if they fail, he can always find someone else.

They’re disposable to Victor, like hired assassins. His own Agency folks are not.

Otabek doesn’t say anything as he slides the folder the rest of the way to the edge of the table and grabs it from there.

“So what was that about equipment and money?” Otabek asks calmly.

Victor finally detaches his hand from Yuuri’s and stands up. He nods at Seung-gil, who walks over to a door next to the one Yuuri came through. “Seung-gil can help you with those,” Victor says.

They follow Seung-gil through the maze of hallways into a storage room that looks more like an armory. Otabek selects a bunch of ropes and some knives, but he also grabs a couple of small handguns. The enemy is relying on weapons here, so Otabek wants to rely more on wit and their collective powers. Yuri follows him through the room while Seung-gil stands by the door, waiting. Otabek grabs some ammo boxes and has to check they’re the right kind for the guns he has. Otabek has fired a gun a couple of times, but he’s by no means an expert.

Seung-gil leads the way again as they leave the room. They’re not going the way they came, but in the opposite direction, and Otabek wonders briefly where they’ll pop up once they get above ground. The underground facility Victor has built seems to be big enough to fit his entire empire inside.

They come out of the hallway into a vast underground garage.

Victor’s four different-color jaguars stand in a row on the opposite wall, and Otabek considers for a moment asking for one of them as necessary equipment. He doubts it would go through.

Then his eyes slide over to a sleek, black motorcycle, very much like his late father’s bike that Otabek used to ride, before selling it along with the house upon leaving the city. This one is much newer and shinier, and probably a lot faster as well.

They’re going to need a ride.

“We’ll take that as well,” Otabek says, pointing at the bike. “And two helmets.”

It’s very satisfying to watch Seung-gil’s stony expression crumble as he searches for an answer and fails to find one. Finally, Seung-gil pulls out a phone identical to the one that’s currently in pieces in Otabek’s pocket and uses it to call Victor.

Otabek’s only regret is that he doesn’t get to see Victor’s expression when Seung-gil sighs into the phone and asks, “He wants your motorcycle, what do I say?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) for her infinite patience and helpfulness and thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) who screamed at me on chat and in emails and was just a wonderful and encouraging test audience.


	13. thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got an ask about how Yuri felt like returning to the city, and you can find the ficlet in Yuri's pov here on [my tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/post/168470635969/slams-down-prompt-the-invisible-ones-verse-how)!  
> -  
> Also there's people dying in this chapter, just a heads-up.

Mila appears on the balcony-turned-front-entryway and whistles low under her breath when Otabek and Yuri roll in on the bike.

“Nice,” she says, bouncing down the stairs. When she’s halfway down she turns to shout through the open front door, “Izzy, they’re back!”

Otabek hears Isabella make her way through the upstairs apartment and to the door.

“Victor gave you a bike?” Mila asks, coming over to place a hand on the handle while Yuri climbs off the back.

Otabek kicks out the stand and leans the bike on it after dismounting. “Not _a_ bike. _His_ bike.” He can’t help the smug grin that appears on his face at the words.

“Look at you,” Mila smirks. “Good job! Either you’re really good at negotiating or you’re a major sell-out.”

Yuri hisses at the last words, but Otabek stops him before he says anything by placing a hand on his leather-clad sleeve. “Yuri, she’s kidding.”

“Maybe a little,” Mila says, batting her lashes.

Isabella rushes down the stairs. “Cool bike,” she says without even looking at it. She is bouncing on the balls of her feet, twisting her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She looks like she has news.

Mila glances from Otabek to Isabella. “Oh, just tell him already!”

“What is it?” Otabek asks, even though he can kind of guess.

“JJ is coming back,” Isabella says. “I sent him a message when you came, and he’s on his way.”

Otabek pulls Yuri close to his side and smiles at Isabella and Mila. Soon they’re going to have their own little team assembled, and Otabek has zero intention of keeping Victor updated on their doings.

He doubts Victor actually cares about what they’re doing. He’ll just keep shoving money and equipment at them, and if they manage to eliminate the threat on their own, all the better for Victor. He can just step into the spotlight and take credit for the work. And if they fail, Victor will shrug, make a sad speech about lost lives and hire a new team to do his bidding.

Otabek sometimes wonders if Victor is really as cold as his actions make him seem. Maybe it’s all the money that makes him look callous. He’s never had to think about the cost of anything.

Not even the cost of life. At least if it’s not someone close to him.

Otabek pulls the folder from the black backpack currently slung over Yuri’s shoulder. He grabs the key from the bike’s ignition and waves the folder in his hand. “Let’s go inside and see what those idiots have managed to find out.”

 

*

 

JJ arrives the following day and he doesn’t arrive alone.

“Looks like things just got twice as salty,” Mila deadpans as JJ strolls in with a guy who has the distinct salt-scent of a _havsrå_ lingering around him.

Isabella jumps on JJ and nearly topples him over while JJ laughs and hugs her tight. It used to make Otabek want to look away when they did that, but now he just pulls Yuri closer and smiles at the sight.

“So this is Leo,” JJ introduces over Isabella’s shoulder while still engulfed into a hug. “Leo, this adorable little burdock is Isabella, over there the red feisty groundroot is Mila, the earthworm is Otabek and I’m guessing the blond under his arm is our _lillerå_ of the forest.”

Otabek laughs at JJ calling him earthworm, but beside him Yuri seethes at being called the _little rå_.

“It’s cute,” Otabek whispers in Yuri’s ear. “Like he’s calling you _little brother_.”

JJ has always been very straightforward and perhaps even a bit _too_ easy-going toward new people and things. Otabek knows JJ takes some time to get used to—hell, he himself avoided JJ for the longest time because he thought the loud _havsrå_ was obnoxious. However, once he got to know JJ better, Otabek realized even further that JJ was _nothing_ like him, but he also realized that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Yuri looks at JJ with an expression that probably looks a lot like the expression Otabek himself had around JJ for the longest time.

He hopes that in time Yuri will come around and see that despite being loud like the ocean and obnoxious as a flock of seagulls, JJ is pure gold in the form of a _havsrå_.

“You copied his hairstyle,” Yuri mutters.

Otabek looks up and realizes that it’s true. When he first cut his hair before beginning his search for Yuri, it was in a style that resembled JJ’s hair a lot. Now that Otabek’s hair is longer on top and braided out of the way by Yuri’s deft fingers, the hair resemblance is not as striking, but Otabek can see where he probably got the hair idea from. Even if the undercut was a clumsy mistake and felt weird at first, he’s grown to like it. He likes how the undercut feels against his fingers and savors the sensation when Yuri runs his fingers through the short hairs at the back of Otabek’s head. He also likes to have Yuri cut his hair, and how it feels to have Yuri braid the top in a French braid and tie the rest in a knot at the crown of his head.

JJ steps closer with Isabella under his arm. “ _Lillerå_ is correct,” he says, tilting his head as he examines Otabek’s hair. “I see you joined the undercut club.”

“Don’t call me that,” Yuri says, and at the same time, Otabek says, “I guess I did, but unfortunately I haven’t had time to get the membership card tattooed above my ass just yet.”

Yuri turns to stare at Otabek. Otabek shrugs. “It’s true, he has a tramp-stamp.”

JJ beams brighter than a lighthouse and turns around. He pushes his hoodie out of the way and reveals the tattoo on his lower back: his initials surrounded by tribal markings that look like waves.

“That’s… something,” Yuri mutters, shaking his head.

Isabella winks at Yuri and mouths, _I think it’s corny too_ , and Yuri grins while JJ looks at his fiancée like a kicked puppy.

The rest of the day is a whirlwind of catching up, making plans and going through the folder of information again with fresh eyes. Victor hasn’t really been putting much effort into this, Otabek thinks, because the information they have is vague at best. Just that the hunters work in smaller groups and have decentralized their forces into several locations and there is no information who is leading the operation. Some possible locations have been listed, along with sightings of the hunters when they have struck. A few locations have been crossed over in red, but it doesn’t say if it’s because the location has been moved or because it’s been destroyed. Victor really is the godfather of vague intel-sharing.

Isabella goes to fetch her laptop from Mila’s bedroom and sits cross-legged on the floor. “I ran this algorithm that predicts the locations they’re likely at, based on the locations and the known sightings in Victor’s files.”

“Of course you did, my genius love,” JJ sighs and plops down from the couch on the floor to hug Isabella.

Isabella smiles but then concentrates on the laptop, sighing. “The problem is, there are not enough known sightings to accurately predict the locations, or even if the locations listed here are at all precise. So this is kind of like tossing a beer can to an area the size of a football field and hoping it hits a bad guy.”

“Well, a football field is still easier to search than the entire city,” Otabek states. “It at least narrows it down for us a bit. It’s kind of like when I was looking for Yuri,” he says, smiling at the memory. “Only I didn’t have a fancy computer algorithm.”

“How did you find _lillerå_?” JJ asks, looking up. He grins as Yuri scowls at him for the nickname.

“I went to the library. Searched three weeks’ worth of newspapers and circled on a map where there had been strange incidents. Like people found unconscious with their ears bleeding.” Otabek pulls Yuri close and presses a kiss on his head.

“Ugh,” Yuri mutters. “I didn’t have any idea of what I was doing at the time, those were all accidents.” He pulls up the hood of his hoodie and Mitten chirps, scandalized when its sleeping hammock is disturbed. Mitten crawls out of the hood along Yuri’s neck and scurries down Yuri’s arm and across the floor to Isabella. For some reason, she’s Mitten’s second-favorite person. Otabek thinks it’s probably because she always has treats at hand for the squirrel.

Isabella pets the squirrel and grins at Otabek. “How charmingly old-fashioned of you, to use the library and newspapers.”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” Otabek says.

Leo speaks up for the first time in a while. “What did those people do to you?” Everyone looks at Leo, who is looking at Yuri. “The ones found with bleeding ears,” Leo clarifies.

Yuri tugs the hood down deeper over his head and shrugs. “I probably looked like an easy target. Some of them tried to rob me. One of them tried to grab me.”

“Tried to grab you?” JJ repeats slowly, and Otabek draws in an angry breath. If someone put their hands on Yuri, that someone is going to _pay_ for it.

Yuri seems to sense the tension in the atmosphere, because he lowers a hand on Otabek’s knee. “He didn’t even get close enough to _spit_ at me, much less to touch me,” Yuri says soothingly. “He dropped on the ground screaming in pain, and I didn’t understand what was going on, but it gave me a chance to make a run for it.”

“Okay,” Otabek breathes. “Okay, good. I’m glad you’re okay.” He pulls Yuri close and hugs him, breathing in the scent of pine forest. Yuri presses against his side, and Otabek drops soft kisses on Yuri’s hood-covered head. He can almost feel the way the others in the room are looking away, but he doesn’t care if they look. He doesn’t have anything to hide from these people. They’re _his_ people.

 

*

 

Otabek remembers thinking, eons ago in the forest, that there was no deadline to Yuri’s training because there was no battle they were preparing for. Now it seems like that is exactly what they were preparing for after all, only they didn’t know it at the time.

Despite her grumbling about the statistical inaccuracy, Isabella’s algorithm proves to be fairly accurate. Otabek goes on an intel gathering mission near the spot Isabella deemed the most likely to have at least some form of a hideout for the hunters.

“Three sightings and mentions in Victor’s files, even the old-fashioned library way would tell you it’s common sense to check the area,” Isabella says, jabbing Otabek fondly in the ribs before he leaves. Otabek rides the motorcycle into the old industrial area and sneaks between the buildings, stopping to listen carefully every now and then. The area is supposed to be abandoned and most of the buildings have signs they are unsafe to enter, but there is definitely someone in the area.

Otabek crouches, pressing a palm flat on the ground, fingers sliding into the cracks in the asphalt. He closes his eyes and feels the ground. He doesn’t want to touch the ground at an area like this because it’s so sad, but it might yield some vital information.

It’s an old industrial area, so there’s a lot of toxins in the ground. Otabek can almost taste them on his tongue, and he shudders as he probes around. The polluted ground makes it difficult to get any definitive answers but he senses footsteps. It’s impossible to tell how many people are in the area, but he can pinpoint their location to an old factory building.

That’s all he needs to know for now. Otabek pulls his fingers from the ground and dusts them, wanting to get the foul feel of toxic chemicals off his skin. Then he turns and sneaks out of the area, mounting his bike and riding back to Mila’s to plan the mission with the others.

It’s the five of them: him, Yuri, Mila, JJ and Leo who go on the first mission. Isabella grumbled about being left behind, but JJ cupped her face between big hands and told her he was not going to risk her fragile human body when it was her magnificent brain they needed behind the computer, working on where they should hit next.

“You talk like you’re so strong and able, but you’re almost as fragile as she is, _havsrå_. Remember when you challenged me to an arm-wrestling competition?” Mila scoffs as they walk toward the bus stop near Mila’s house.

In retrospect, taking one of Victor’s cars might have been better than the bike, because now they need to rely on public transportation to get anywhere. Otabek has almost assembled the phone twice already to call Victor, asking for a car. But that would make him even more of a sell-out than what he currently feels like, so the phone has remained at the bottom of his jacket pocket in pieces.

JJ groans at the mention of the arm-wrestling competition, because Mila served him his weakling ass on a silver platter. Yuri was disqualified after his first round when he looked Otabek in the eyes with a grin and _made_ him lose. Otabek, the reigning champion of arm-wrestling, grins and reaches to punch JJ lightly in the shoulder, and JJ punches back. Otabek laughs at how weak the punch is, and for a moment it’s easy to forget where they’re going. They joke and laugh and the spring sunshine feels warm on Otabek’s back as he walks, his arm casually slung around Yuri’s shoulder. He can feel Mitten shifting in Yuri’s hood, and the squirrel pokes its head out to scold Otabek about making its sleeping hammock unstable.

“I tried to leave him with Isabella, but he didn’t agree,” Yuri sighs, stroking the squirrel’s head over his shoulder. “But stay hidden, you’re drawing attention.”

The squirrel vanishes from sight and Otabek feels it curling up in the hood that’s resting against his arm.

They get on the bus like a group of friends going out for a night of fun, not like a hit team going out to kill bad guys. The sensation of dread comes back as soon as Otabek sits down, though, because he can feel the hard line of the handgun that’s tucked into his waistband pressing into his back as he leans into the seat on the bus. He hopes he doesn’t have to use it, because despite training shooting for a couple of times in the last few days, he’s a pretty lousy shot. JJ is a lot better, even though Otabek is never going to tell him this. Mila is the best of them, having practiced shooting since she was a child.

When they arrive at the location it’s like straight out of a movie; the kind where the bad guys are lurking in an abandoned factory building and the cops rush in, shouting that they have the place surrounded. Only this time there’s no SWAT team behind, ready to swarm the building. It’s only five people: four _rå_ and a groundroot-strengthened human.

“Remember, they have guns,” Otabek says in a low tone. No matter how well they have planned and coordinated this beforehand, all that can come crumbling down in one well-aimed gunshot.

Otabek glances at Yuri as they advance between the buildings, trying to avoid being sighted.

When they arrive to the corner of the next building from the one they’re aiming for, Otabek holds out a fist to have them all stop, and he crouches, pressing a palm on the ground.

The response is weak, but it’s something. He gets a vague thrum from the building they’re going for—several pairs of feet on the ground floor, and maybe more on the upper levels if they’re unlucky.

“I can take three at most,” Yuri whispers near Otabek’s ear.

“We’ll deal with them together,” Otabek replies, squeezing Yuri’s hand with his free one, tugging the other hand out of the toxic dirt. He motions the rest of them to gather around. “I can’t tell how many there are, but definitely more than one,” Otabek says in a hushed tone. “And I can’t tell if they have reinforcements upstairs. Remember, shoot only if you have to. Best case scenario is that we get their computer and possibly a phone and we can leave them unconscious and take off.”

They planned it all excitedly beforehand, but now that the moment is at hand, it feels like someone took the fight out of them. Otabek leads the silent troop near the building and they flock near the door. Mila detaches from the group and goes around to the back door. When he’s sure Mila is in place, Otabek counts silently with his fingers from three to one, and then he unceremoniously pushes the door off the doorframe and it falls down inside the building with a terrible clang.

The following events happen in a rapid sequence. Otabek hears shouting from inside the building, along with the sound of people hastily rushing here and there. He rushes in, followed by JJ and the rest.

The _rå_ hunters rely on stealth much more than numbers, and their first instinct seems to be running rather than fighting. There’s four men and they’re running toward the back door when Otabek comes into the room. One of them is blond like Jared Leto in Fight Club, the rest are more muted in color in their brown or black hair.

They’re dressed in ordinary clothes and if Otabek saw them on the street, he wouldn’t look twice at any of them. They look so ordinary that it makes him briefly wonder why they hate the _rå_ so much. Well, maybe they don’t. Maybe the pay is the motivating factor, which would explain why none of them try to attack despite having four _rå_ nearly in their grasp. It must be obvious to them by now if they have even glanced back to see Otabek at the head of the group of four; Otabek’s eyes glazed black, Yuri’s flashing yellow beside him and the two _havsrå_ behind them with their eyes milky white like sea foam.

One of the hunters is carrying a laptop, Otabek notices as the blond turns to fire a gun behind him. The shot is panicked and hits high above Otabek’s head, but it makes him flinch nonetheless.

When the first one gets to the back door and pulls it open, the entire group is startled to a halt for a second, because Mila is standing in the doorway like a red-haired angel of death. She’s holding a gun, and when the man who opened the door aims his gun at her, she doesn’t hesitate before firing her own. The first bullet finds its target in the neck of the brown-haired man who opened the door. Blood gushes out from the wound and he falls with a gurgling sound, hands on his throat as if that would stop the bleeding.

The rest of them shuffle back from the door and form a tight back-to-back triangle, clearly unsure about how to proceed. The blond man’s gun is aimed at Mila, who aims hers back steadily. Another gun is pointed at Leo and JJ, and the third hunter is fumbling for his gun while trying to hold onto the laptop in his arms. Otabek is holding a gun and aiming it in the general direction of the hunters.

Everything comes to a standstill for a brief moment, neither side risking a shot.

Otabek listens to any sounds from above, and when he hears none he glances at Yuri.

Yuri is staring at the man lying dead at the feet of the other hunters. The dead man’s eyes are staring into nothingness, but he also seems to be staring in their direction, like he’s accusing them of his demise.

“Yuri,” Otabek whispers. “Can you take them out?”

Yuri’s bottom lip trembles, and Otabek has to will his hand to keep steady as he keeps pointing the gun at the men.

Yuri’s eyes flicker, and for a moment Otabek is worried he might collapse.

This is too much to ask of anyone, let alone someone who is barely eighteen.

“Yuri,” Otabek tries again. The seconds seem to tick by too slowly.

The situation suddenly becomes chaotic, when a small furry ball drops down from the ceiling and lands on the face of one of the hunters. The man screams, trying to protect his eyes, and his gun goes off. The bullet lodges itself harmlessly into a wall on Otabek’s left side, but it seems to kickstart a sequence of events. Mila has to crouch down to avoid the shot from the blond man’s gun, but then she springs up and kicks the gun out of the guy’s hand. The gun flies away and clatters on the floor, while Mila pulls the blond man into a headlock, her gun aimed at his temple. There is an ear-bursting sound as she releases a bullet into the guy’s brain and then lets him slide on the ground.

 _Two down, two to go_ , Otabek thinks, watching as if in slow motion as Mitten fights against a human like it stands a chance at winning.

Mitten is clinging onto the man’s face, trying to claw his eyes out. The man drops his gun as he gets a hold of the squirrel’s tail and starts tugging the animal off his face. Meanwhile, the third man with the laptop is aiming his gun here and there, unsure what he should do. He turns his gun toward the squirrel, currently biting into the other man’s nose as he tries to pry the animal off.

Suddenly Yuri springs into action. “Mitten, no!” he shouts and his eyes flash in determination. He lunges at the guy who is tearing at Mitten, and the guy just _drops_ , his hands releasing their hold of the animal’s tail.

Mitten scurries to Yuri and runs up his pantleg, wailing. Yuri stands right beside the last man who aimed his gun at Mitten. Yuri stares at the gun while it slowly turns on its owner. The man looks panicked and tries to force his hand to turn the gun away from his own face, but it’s no use. The gun goes off, and suddenly there is a pile of four men lying in a heap on the concrete floor of an abandoned factory building. The one Yuri dropped first is only unconscious and Otabek looks away when Mila steps closer and fixes the problem in a fourth, ear-shattering gunshot.

For a moment, it’s absolutely silent as Yuri cradles the squirrel in his arms and the rest of them stare at the pile of corpses in disgust.

Leo turns around and vomits on the concrete floor. JJ looks like he is fighting the urge to do the same, and Otabek completely understands why. The stench of blood and bodily excretions is hanging low in the air, and his own stomach is doing angry somersaults inside him. Mila is pinching the bridge of her nose and Yuri seems oblivious to the world, still hugging Mitten close to him.

Otabek steps closer and pries the laptop from under the bodies. “Well, that was a clusterfuck,” he says quietly, returning to Yuri’s side. “We better burn the bodies, just in case.”

 

*

 

They’re all very quiet as they make their way to Mila’s house. Otabek realizes that planning a mission and having it go as planned are two different things. They did not account for Yuri freezing like that, and they certainly didn’t account for the squirrel to save the day. He’s also not quite sure how he feels about being the cause of death for four people, even if they are ones who would happily drop a bullet into his own brain for money.

They’re all alive and well and the mission is accomplished, but the mood is pretty low. Otabek holds Yuri under his arm as they take the bus to Mila’s apartment, and Yuri is cradling Mitten, not caring about the stares they get because of it. The animal doesn’t seem badly hurt, but it’s curled up in a small ball on Yuri’s lap and whining in a pained tone.

It feels weird to watch the other people on the bus, going about their daily lives, commuting home from work or school, completely unaware that the disheveled-looking group of people have just left behind a smoking pile of corpses in an abandoned industrial area.

“We definitely need to plan ahead better next time,” Leo mutters in a hoarse voice as they walk from the bus stop to the wooden house at the end of the street.

“No shit,” JJ says in a low tone.

Otabek never lets go of Yuri’s hand, and he can feel the fingers tremble under his touch.

Isabella is waiting for them at the gate leading to the yard of the house. She hugs JJ tightly and looks at all of them over his shoulder, like she has to see they’re all present and accounted for. “Are you okay?” she asks, directing her words at no one in particular. “It’s all over the news.”

Otabek swallows. So much about being discreet. And it’s not even about being discreet. They definitely need to plan the next mission better, or they might not come back from it at all.

They got lucky this time, but they can’t afford to rely on _luck_ if they want to survive.

Otabek watches as Mila silently hands the laptop to Isabella and they file up the stairs and go inside. He hopes the laptop will yield information about the person or people who are behind this mindless hunt, so they don’t have to burn the entire city to the ground to cover their tracks, or rush off to missions from which one or more of them might not come back.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the nickname that JJ gives Yuri is kind of a wordplay. _Lillerå_ literally means "little rå", but it's also a reference to the Swedish word _lillebror_ which means "little brother". :')  
>  -  
> I'm on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely beta / cheerleader squad [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com). ♥


	14. fourteen

After the first mission they lay low for a couple of days, and it’s not just because the police is investigating the remains of four bodies found in a burnt-down factory building that was supposedly abandoned.

Otabek doesn’t like the look in Yuri’s eyes. Yuri is reclusive and sullen. He stays in their closet bedroom for most of the day and takes care of Mitten. The squirrel is fine, having only suffered a minor injury to its tail, but it seems to want to stay to console Yuri.

Otabek also wants to console Yuri, but he doesn’t know how.

They all lounge around the house and avoid talking about the mission. Sooner or later they’re going to have to have a debriefing about it, but right now Otabek is too worried about Yuri to worry about anything else.

On the second day after the mission he drags Yuri outside and tells him to climb on the back of the bike. Otabek rolls the bike out of the neighborhood at a leisurely pace and then revs the engine as they get on the bigger roads.

He feels the slight tightening of Yuri’s arms around his waist as the front of the bike points north and Yuri realizes they’re going toward the forest spreading outside the city.

Otabek drives to a spot on the side of the road where he can park the bike, and they walk into the forest together.

Yuri follows without hesitation as Otabek offers him a hand. Mitten, who has been hiding in Yuri’s pocket the entire ride from the city, climbs out and perches on Yuri’s shoulder, chattering happily. Otabek catches a few thoughts from here and there, and he gathers Mitten is happy to see _more trees than one at the same time_ again. He concludes that’s squirrel for _forest_.

They walk for about fifteen minutes hand in hand until Otabek can’t hear the noise of the traffic anywhere around them. Then he stops and turns, pulling Yuri into his arms.

Yuri inhales deeply and clings to Otabek. His breaths turn ragged and uneven, and Otabek slides a hand up and down his back until his shoulders stop trembling. Otabek presses soft kisses on Yuri’s hair, tangled and messy in the wake of the helmet.

When Yuri pulls back, he wipes his cheek and then pulls Otabek into a kiss. The kiss feels desperate and sad, but when Yuri breaks the contact he looks happier. He pulls Otabek down on the mossy ground, and they sit there for a long time, breathing in the scent of the forest. Yuri is stroking a small branch of a nearby birch, touching the budding leaves, and Otabek has his hand buried into the ground, basking in the feel of clean soil between his fingers.

It feels like a cleansing ritual, one they both desperately needed, even though Otabek only thought of Yuri’s needs on the drive here.

“It’s awful to watch someone die,” Yuri eventually says. “Even if it is a situation where it’s them or us.”

Otabek brushes his fingers up and down Yuri’s arm soothingly. “Yeah,” he breathes.

“I had no idea what that would feel like. To be in that situation, I mean. I just saw Mila shoot the guy and I completely froze,” Yuri mumbles.

“That’s how anyone would react,” Otabek says.

“ _You_ didn’t freeze,” Yuri points out.

“That’s how any _sane person_ would react,” Otabek amends.

He gets a small smile for his forced joke. It’s still not good, but it’s a start. Otabek pulls Yuri against him so Yuri is leaning his back on Otabek’s chest, lounging between his legs as they bask in the bright spring sunshine.

The warmer season has crept upon the forest during the time they have been gone. The pine trees hum and the birches seem to be ready to spread their rolled-up buds into small, green leaves at any moment. Birds sing their mating calls above their heads, and if Otabek closes his eyes and only listens to the forest and feels Yuri against him, he can forget about hunting down and shooting people. Here in the wild, it’s just them.

Well, them and the squirrels.

Suddenly, there is a chorus of chattering noises from above, and Otabek looks up to spot a swarm of squirrels is heading their way, jumping from one branch to another high up in the trees.

“Here comes the furry army,” Otabek groans as they start descending. A squirrel runs down the trunk of a nearby pine and launches itself on Yuri, squeaking with joy as it collides with Mitten on his shoulder. Both squirrels fall onto Yuri’s lap in a furry somersault, and Yuri laughs. The other squirrels follow suit, and Otabek and Yuri find themselves covered in joyful squirrels in a matter of seconds.

“I’ll never get used to these Disney princess moments,” Otabek mutters dryly as the squirrels climb all over him. One of the squirrels brushes its tail against his mouth, making him spit out hair in its wake. “I doubt Cinderella had to spit out squirrel butt hair, though.”

Yuri laughs, loud and bright, and the laughter seems to dissolve all the tension that has gathered in Otabek’s shoulders over the past couple of days. The air feels easier to breathe and the sunshine feels warmer than moments ago.

The animals climb and crawl all over their clothes, chattering happily with Mitten. Yuri follows the catch-up with a happy grin on his face.

“Mitten is telling them about his heroic adventure,” Yuri translates as the other squirrels fall silent, listening to Mitten.

Eventually Yuri shoos the squirrels to the ground with an authoritative click of his tongue. Then he squirms in Otabek’s arms, staring up at him.

“Your nostrils look funny from this angle,” Yuri states and giggles as Otabek pokes a finger in his ribs. Otabek leans down to kiss Yuri, and one of the squirrels lets out a noise that could be interpreted as the squirrel equivalent for _get a room, losers_.

When they walk out of the forest at sunset and reach the bike, Yuri looks sad. “I wish we could stay here,” he says, brushing his fingers against the bark of a tree.

Otabek nods. He wishes he could just take Yuri and the bike and drive in the opposite direction from the city and keep driving until they find a place where none of this bullshit can reach them.

“I wish we could stay, too,” Otabek sighs. “But we have friends who need our help.”

“ _Friends_.” Yuri smiles tentatively. “I’ve never had friends before, really. Aside from the squirrels back when I was a kid.” Mitten chirps something from Yuri’s pocket. “And the squirrel friends I now have,” Yuri corrects.

“And me,” Otabek says softly.

“You’re so much more than that,” Yuri breathes, and his eyes are the deep green of a northern pine forest as he looks at Otabek.

The look indicates that when Otabek thinks Yuri is his everything, Yuri is definitely in pace with the statement. The look says that Yuri _knows_ and he shares the feeling.

Otabek kisses him while they stand on the border of nature and civilization, one foot on sun-warmed asphalt and the other sinking into the grassy patch beside the road.

Otabek doesn’t want to go back, but he turns the front of the bike toward the city nonetheless and drives back as the sun sets behind the horizon on their right.

 

*

 

The second mission is less of a clusterfuck but no less disgusting.

Besides a copy of the hacked Agency archive, Isabella finds other locations on the laptop they acquired on the first run, but she says it seems to be all small factions and no clear leadership anywhere.

“These are probably just hired guns like the first ones,” Otabek says, studying the decrypted files Isabella shows them. “We need to find the people behind this operation. If we shut them down, the hired guns will just scatter away and that’s the end of that.”

“I’ll keep working on it,” Isabella says as she strokes Mitten who is sitting on her knee.

Leo glances at the address Isabella shows them. “I know that neighborhood,” he says. “It’s all offices. My friend used to work in those buildings as an after-hours cleaner.”

Otabek asks Yuri to stay behind this time, and he can see Yuri swallowing in a sullen manner. He doesn’t disagree with Otabek, though. Instead he sits down on the couch next to Isabella and stares at the laptop screen while Isabella works, his hand absently stroking Mitten’s fur as the squirrel curls up on his lap.

As Leo said, the area is all office buildings, built right on the waterfront in a wealthy part of town. They have to be a lot more cautious and discreet this time. There are other people in the area, and the building they’re about to enter is an office building with people working. Even late at night, there are scattered lights on in some of the offices. It won’t do to have a full-on firefight in this neighborhood.

The small corner office they’re targeting is on the third floor, overlooking the water and the harbor across the bay. There is no way of getting in through the front door, because the office building has an around-the-clock security guard in the lobby, and they don’t want to draw any more attention than absolutely necessary. Otabek kind of regrets asking Yuri to sit this one out, because he could have gotten them past the guard easily.

However, there is a fire ladder on the wall. Mila stands guard a little distance away, ready to alert them in case someone comes. Leo walks to the edge of the water and raises one hand to hover above the water’s surface, his eyes hazing into white. A moment later fog rises from the sea and keeps spreading outward from where Leo is standing, so within a few minutes they are hidden from sight.

JJ scales the ladder and crawls a little way on the ledge below the window to look inside their target office. There is light shining through the window, and JJ peeks in quickly. He lifts two fingers, signaling there are two people inside. Otabek holds out his fist, signaling _wait_ , and climbs up after JJ. He waits until JJ scoots over and then looks inside. Two men in suits are sitting on their computers, and if it wasn’t for the guns he can spot peeking beneath their suit jackets, Otabek would think they are just plain office workers. That, and the fact that he can see them going through the Agency’s hacked archive on one of the screens.

Otabek nods at JJ. They agreed silence is the most important aspect of this mission, so barging in to bargain with the hired guns is not an option.

JJ looks down at Leo in the eye of the fog. JJ seems to be talking to the other _havsrå_ with his eyebrows. JJ’s eyes cloud white as lifts his eyebrows, pointing at the water and then up, and Leo nods, his eyes milky white as well while he walks to the edge of the water again.

A thin stream of saltwater rises from the sea like a pillar. Leo holds the stream steady and lifts it higher, until it reaches JJ. It’s fascinating to watch the two _havsrå_ pass on the stream of water like it’s rope. Otabek knows what they’re doing. This was one of the discussed possible plans of action, and the one they’re going for because it’s the quietest one.

It’s creepy to watch saltwater to rise from the surface of the water, run up to JJ who guides it inside the building in a long stream that leaks in through the tiniest cracks in the walls and window frames. Through the window, Otabek sees the stream gather on the floor, divide into two separate ones, aiming for the two men in the room. Water is silent, so they don’t hear it coming until they feel the trickle of water run up their legs. Otabek looks away, but he hears the gurgled screams as the water reaches their faces and rushes in through the nose and mouth.

Once the inside of the building is silent, they enter through the window. Otabek sprays the pane of glass with a glue spray and then cracks the window with a quick rap of his knuckles. The spray creates a film on the glass so it cracks like a car’s windshield and doesn’t produce a rain of glass shards. He pushes the window pane inside and climbs after it, with JJ coming in after him.

Otabek is detaching one of the computers from the wires when Mila climbs in, whispering that Leo is standing guard below and keeping the fog up.

“They say drowning is a peaceful way to go once you stop struggling,” JJ says, eyeing the motionless form of the man who just drowned on dry land. “That should give the coroner a puzzle to be solved. How did this man drown in the ocean while he’s in a third-floor office?” JJ continues theatrically.

“Stop playing,” Otabek says. “We’re here to gather info, not to amuse ourselves.”

JJ purses his lips. “I know,” he says, growing more serious. “Joking just makes doing this a bit easier. I don’t _enjoy_ this, you know.”

Otabek lowers a hand on his shoulder. “I know. None of us do.”

“You know we’re just going to dump their bodies into the sea so it just looks like they drowned naturally,” Mila points out. “Even though there is nothing natural about this and it’s going to warrant a police investigation anyway. But either way, with the disappeared hardware this looks like a break-in and doesn’t really connect to four burned bodies in an abandoned factory.”

Otabek shudders at the thought of the first mission. This is a lot neater, albeit he still doesn’t want to think about the fact that these are real people they’re finishing off. Real people with families and friends and lives. But then again, they’re real people who took money from someone in exchange for targeting and killing the _rå_. So he forces himself to look at the bodies on the floor. _It’s them or us._

“Okay,” JJ says, pointing at Otabek. “You get to dump them, Mr. Muscle.”

It’s kind of disgusting to carry the bodies to the window and throw them into the water below. They’re mostly dry on the outside but Otabek can hear the sloshing in their lungs as he hoists one body at a time over the sill and down into the water while Leo watches from below.

They gather the computers into backpacks and climb out the way they came in.

Otabek briefly wonders how this will look to police investigators. A break-in at an office, computers stolen and two people found drowned in the sea below, but what’s the motive behind it?

Otabek glances back as they walk away and leave the foggy waterfront behind. There is a sick feeling in his stomach and he wonders how many bodies they are going to have to leave behind before they find the real culprits behind the hunt.

 

*

 

They’re lounging in Mila’s living room that night after a very late dinner. Isabella has the laptop on the edge of the coffee table while she sits cross-legged on the floor and JJ is using her thigh as a pillow. Mila is lying sprawled on the armchair and Mitten is sleeping curled up on the backrest behind her head. Leo is on his air mattress, while Otabek and Yuri share the couch. Otabek is lying on his back and Yuri is almost on top of him, resting his cheek below Otabek’s collarbone.

Isabella sighs and closes the lid of the laptop. “Well, that’s all I can do tonight. We’ll see tomorrow if the decryption has advanced at all.” She smiles down at JJ and runs her fingers through his hair. JJ lets out a content noise and shifts closer.

“So Yuri,” Mila says, chewing on a toothpick. “I have seen you make people do things and I’ve seen you hurt people on the inside of their brain, which is kind of scary when you think of it…”

Otabek knows Mila well enough to know where this is going. He groans.

Mila grins wickedly around the toothpick. “So how does that seduction thing work?”

From the corner of his eye Otabek sees the delicious blush that spreads on Yuri’s cheeks.

Yuri shrugs; Otabek feels the movement against his body. “I don’t know. It’s kind of like making people do things, but a little different.”

They already tried that one. Mila thought it was funny to watch JJ do somersaults whenever Yuri said _do a barrel roll_. She thought it less funny when Yuri made her balance a potted plant on her forehead and it fell, scattering soil and plant pieces all around the living room.

Seemingly Mila has forgotten about past experiments with Yuri’s _skogsrå_ powers, because she lowers her feet down from where they were hanging over the armrest and sits up, leaning forward. “Show me,” she says eagerly.

“No,” Otabek mutters and pulls Yuri tighter against him.

Yuri grins against his skin. “Are you jealous?” he whispers, and Mila giggles.

“ _Yes_ ,” Otabek says without shame.

“Try it on me,” Isabella says. “C’mon, Otabek, you know I’m no match to you, you have no reason to be jealous.” She winks, and Otabek rolls his eyes as JJ trembles with silent laughter against Isabella’s leg.

Well, beautiful as she is, jealousy-wise she is the least threatening person in the room. She has a spine of steel and would never do anything to hurt him.

Otabek holds Yuri tight against him. “Fine, but you’re not going anywhere,” he says and kisses Yuri’s temple. “You stay right there so I can fight them off when they come swarming to you.”

Yuri laughs. “You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he says, and JJ finally gives up trying to keep his laughter silent. He guffaws like the loud idiot he is, and Otabek growls at him to be quiet.

“It’s not that funny,” Otabek mutters.

“It kind of is,” Mila disagrees with a giggle.

Yuri doesn’t move, but he turns his head and looks at Isabella. Otabek sees the flash of yellow in the depths of Yuri’s eyes, and he sees Isabella’s jaw fall slack; sees the way she can’t take her eyes off Yuri; sees her gripping her own knee, knuckles white.

“Holy crap,” she breathes. “Okay, stop.”

Yuri grins and turns to look at Otabek, their faces almost touching as Yuri is lying on top of him.

Now it’s JJ’s turn to look jealous, and Otabek kind of understands why everyone keeps laughing at him when he gets jealous of Yuri. JJ pouts and looks at Isabella with hurt puppy eyes until she leans down to kiss him.

“That was strange,” Isabella says when JJ finally lets her go. “It was like this weird _pull_ , a sudden urge to go to Yuri and—” she cuts herself off and blushes, and JJ growls, pulling her down to a kiss again.

“See, not that much fun,” Otabek jabs, smirking at JJ.

“I wanna try it too,” JJ says like it’s a challenge.

Otabek starts to shake his head, but Yuri stops him with a kiss. “C’mon, let me mess with his head a bit,” Yuri mumbles against Otabek’s mouth.

They all laugh, and JJ sits up like he’s steeling himself against something. “Well, try me, _lillerå_ ,” he says. “I doubt it will work on me.” He sits beside Isabella, smirking confidently.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” Yuri turns his yellow eyes on JJ, and JJ’s blue eyes widen just a fraction. Otabek sees from across the room the way his pupils blow wide, and JJ grips Isabella’s hand as if he’s searching for an anchor.

“Shit,” JJ breathes. His mouth falls open and Otabek is pretty sure he’s going to start drooling any moment.

Otabek tickles Yuri’s ribs. “Enough.”

Yuri giggles and squirms, and JJ relaxes visibly and closes his mouth as the spell breaks.

“Stop tickling me, troll,” Yuri squeals.

“Okay, now you _have_ to do me too,” Mila demands.

Otabek buries his face into Yuri’s hair. “No,” he mumbles pathetically.

“C’mon, it’s only fair,” Mila says. “Maybe he should do Leo too, so we’re all even.”

“No thanks, I’m good,” Leo says and raises his palms up in a refusing gesture.

Otabek mutters under his breath that Yuri will not be doing anyone but him, and Yuri smacks him on the head, laughing with the rest of them. Mila pouts and stares at Otabek like he’s no fun. Otabek knows he’s no fun, but he doesn’t want Yuri casting seduction around himself like that.

In the midst of the stupid rush of jealousy Otabek is suddenly happy of the change that’s happened in Yuri. When they first came to stay at Mila’s place, Yuri was quiet and elusive. Now he’s established himself as part of the team, and he fits into it seamlessly.

These are their friends, Otabek tells himself. It’s just for shits and giggles. None of them would ever consider hurting Otabek. He knows this. But jealousy is such a strange human emotion; one that can’t be turned off by will. But at least he can reason his brain around it.

“Fine,” Otabek says, making a gesture toward Mila. “Seduce the root.”

Mila is in the middle of hissing angrily at Otabek when Yuri hits. Mila’s eyes widen and the angry look is replaced with a vacant stare aimed at Yuri. Mila sits up straighter and looks like she’s about to get up and walk across the room to Yuri, when Yuri suddenly releases her and Mila sits back, blinking.

“Whoa, that was so _weird_ ,” Mila says, and Isabella echoes her sentiment.

“Okay, now that everyone’s been properly seduced, I think it’s time we go to bed,” Otabek says. Yuri lets out an oomph when Otabek gets up and doesn’t bother removing Yuri first. He merely wraps his arms around Yuri and lifts him along. He carries Yuri into the bathroom and wordlessly hands him his toothbrush.

Yuri is smirking the entire time he brushes his teeth, and he leans right into Otabek’s personal space and presses against him, locking eyes with Otabek through the mirror.

To think that just a few months ago he was blushing and apologizing for doing this to Otabek. Well, granted, the situation is a bit different, because this time he’s not unknowingly using his powers on Otabek. No, this is just Yuri. It makes blood rush in Otabek’s ears, to think that he’s the only who gets to experience Yuri like this, no powers involved. Just _Yuri_ , raw and perfect.

Otabek half-carries Yuri into their sleeping closet and slams the door shut.

“Should we put in earplugs?” Mila shouts after them.

“Yes,” Otabek shouts back. “Put in as many as you can find!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoy this fic, _please_ leave a comment, because it gets discouraging to post this when I don't get feedback.  
>  -  
> Look at this amazing art of [Yuri and his squirrel squad](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/post/168613444694/antarespromise-worldofcopperwings-this-is-for) that antarespromise made me!!! AAAHHH! ♥  
> -  
> Also I got an [ask about the powers of the _rå_](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/post/168605912179/hi-ive-been-reading-your-fic-the-invisible-ones), so if you’re interested in that there’s a brief explanation about the different types of _rå_ in the fic and their powers.  
>  -  
> Hit me up on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely squad [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for all their help.


	15. fifteen

The third time they hit a location they’re beginning to move in unison, like a team should be. Otabek arrived ahead on bike to scout the location, with Yuri and JJ following him when he called, telling them the details. There’s only three of them because there’s just two people manning the place. It’s a dingy backroom of a storage facility near the airport and Otabek doubts there’s anything of value here other than what might be found on the laptop the guy was using when they barged in.

Now the guy is dead in the corner and the woman with him has just collapsed after a well-aimed mental jab from Yuri. JJ catches the woman when she falls and lowers her to the floor.

JJ dusts his hands and looks at the woman lying unconscious on the ground of the storage building. “Well, that was easy.” He turns to tear the wires off the laptop perched on the table to take it to Isabella for information extraction. Yuri crouches down and digs a phone out of the unconscious woman’s pocket.

It was easy. _Too easy_ , Otabek thinks. He sees the movement from the corner of his eye. It’s just a gleam of light, but it’s enough to alert him. “JJ, look out!”

Three things happen at the same time. JJ turns to where Otabek is pointing, Otabek dives to push him out of the way and Yuri whips around, eyes flashing yellow.

Two shots are fired in rapid succession and a third one a moment later. JJ lets out a groan just as Otabek hits him, and they fall on the ground in a thud. The third shot, Otabek realizes, was supposed to be aimed a Yuri but Yuri wrangled control out of the shooter’s brain, and now the shooter doesn’t have much brain left to speak about. The gun clatters harmlessly to the ground as the man falls in the doorway, eyes already glazing over as blood gushes out of his mouth and from the back of his skull.

Yuri whips around again, worry lacing his features. He rushes over to where JJ and Otabek are lying in a heap.

“Fuck, that _hurts_ ,” JJ says in a tone that sounds almost surprised.

Otabek realizes in a sudden rush that he can smell blood from a close proximity. “Shit,” Otabek says, rolling off JJ and checking himself in the process.

“You’re hurt,” Yuri gasps, pointing at Otabek’s sleeve.

Otabek glances at his arm that’s trickling blood. “I’m fine, it’s just a graze. What about you, JJ?”

There is a small puddle of blood spreading underneath JJ’s left leg. “Shit,” JJ curses, pushing a hand on the gaping hole on the side of his thigh. Blood gushes out between his fingers at a rate that is extremely worrying. “Might be the artery,” he says weakly. The air smells like salt and iron.

“I’m so sorry,” Yuri says weakly. “I didn’t get him fast enough.”

“Not your fault, _lillerå_ ,” JJ says, and for once Yuri doesn’t comment on how he hates being called that.

Otabek kneels beside JJ and takes off his jacket, tearing it into long strips. He feels like every hit they’ve made has gotten them closer to whoever is behind this. There is no way in hell he’s going to let JJ bleed to death now, when they are so close to the finish line. They have advanced through the factions and each time they have found something new hidden on the hard drives of the computers and phones they have delivered to Isabella.

Otabek studies the wound for a heartbeat before pressing the folded sleeve of his jacket on it. “Hold that in place tightly,” he says to Yuri, and Yuri immediately kneels beside JJ. Otabek wraps a long piece of fabric around JJ’s thigh and tightens it, tying the ends while Yuri presses on the wound. “It’s not the artery,” Otabek says surely, even though he can’t be exactly sure.

“Are you sure?” JJ asks faintly.

“Yes,” Otabek says. “You’re not going to die here.”

“You can’t take me to a hospital,” JJ says like Otabek doesn’t know it.

“Yes, Captain Obvious, I know.” Otabek pulls the sleek black phone from his pocket and hands it to Yuri. “Put the sim and the battery in and call Victor.”

Calling Victor is the last thing he wants to do, but they don’t have a lot of options here. JJ’s eyes are flashing between the usual blue and _havsrå_ milky white, and Otabek can see he’s losing control over it happening. That’s never a good sign.

It seems to take forever as Yuri assembles the phone with blood-slicked hands and makes the call. Meanwhile, Otabek wraps more fabric strips around JJ’s thigh and keeps pressing on the wound.

JJ looks pale and he turns his unfocused white eyes to Otabek. “Tell Izzy—” he begins.

Otabek interrupts him. “No, don’t you dare. I said you are _not_ going to die in here, and I mean it.”

“Victor?” Yuri says into the phone, and he sounds a lot calmer than he looks. “One of us has been shot. Track this location and come get us _now_.”

Otabek doubts Yuri can make anyone do anything at such a distance, but his voice certainly sounds like he thinks he can.

The minutes seem to tick by endlessly slowly as they wait for the sounds of a car outside. Otabek keeps slapping JJ on the cheek to keep him conscious, but JJ is slipping away. “You can’t die,” Otabek grumbles, low and desperate. Yuri is perched on the windowsill and Mitten is perched on the window on the opposite wall, both ready to alert them when help comes.

“They’re here,” Yuri says, jumping down from the windowsill. “Mitten, come.”

Otabek lifts JJ easily on his shoulders. Then he remembers the bike is still in the alley behind the building. Otabek reaches for the keys and tosses them at Yuri. Yuri has only started practicing driving the motorcycle, but now there is no other option. Otabek watches Yuri catch the keys and swallow nervously. They exchange a fleeting glance. _Careful_ , Otabek’s eyes tell Yuri. _There’s been enough injury today._

“Yuri, take the laptop to Izzy. I’ll call as soon as I can.” That’s all he says before walking out, carrying JJ on his shoulders, to where none other than Yuuri Katsuki stands, waiting with the car door open.

Otabek is faintly aware of Yuri’s footsteps retreating in the opposite direction. He hears the bike engine roar to life. He listens to Yuri drive away, while lowering JJ on the car seat. Then Otabek focuses all his attention to keeping his best friend alive while Seung-gil navigates the car at an illegal speed toward Victor’s underground complex.

“There’s a surgeon and a full medical team waiting,” Yuuri says quietly as Otabek looks up helplessly.

JJ is so fucking pale, and his eyes are closed. His breathing is shallow and Otabek listens to his heartbeats flutter in his chest like every one of them could be the last.

Every one of them _could_ be the last.

As soon as the car screeches to a halt in the underground garage, JJ is slapped onto a bed and wheeled away. Otabek swallows and his arms drop to his sides like they weigh a ton as he watches the retreating team of medics with JJ in the middle, looking very small and very pale.

What if this morning was the last time he heard JJ tell a stupid joke? What if today was the last time he heard JJ laugh, louder than anyone else, at his own joke?

Katsuki lowers a hand on Otabek’s shoulder. “I know you’re worried sick, but there’s nothing you can do right now. They’re doing all they can.” His voice is soothing, and Otabek allows himself to be led down another hallway and into a changing room.

Katsuki goes to a closet and returns with a pile of clothes and a towel, placing them on a side table. He points to a door on the left. “Go take a shower. No use sitting around covered in blood,” he mutters, and Otabek looks down. The front of his shirt is soaked with blood and his hands are covered in red blood stains.

JJ’s blood.

Otabek can’t get the stained clothes off fast enough. He strips them off and walks shakily to the shower room. For some reason the blood has soaked down into his other shoe as well, and Otabek leaves a bloody footprint on the tile floor on every other step.

He stops at the door to look at the trail of blood.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yuuri says from where he is bagging Otabek’s clothes into a plastic bag. “I’ll have it cleaned.”

It’s a luxurious shower with massaging water jets and whatnot, but Otabek just takes a regular hot shower and scrubs his skin raw. He watches as the water runs red for a while, but it clears up quickly. He studies the scrape he got from a ricocheting bullet. His body is already working its healing magic, and there is a scab over the wound on his arm.

On the outside he’s fine, but on the inside he is a mess, like a tornado wreaked havoc in his brain. He walks out of the shower to discover the footprints of blood have already vanished from the floor, along with his clothes and shoes.

Otabek dresses himself mechanically in the nondescript gray sweatpants and hoodie left on the side table and pads out of the changing room.

Seung-gil is leaning onto the wall beside the door, waiting for him.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your friend,” Seung-gil says. His voice and face are expressionless as usual, but when he lowers his hand on Otabek’s wrist, Otabek can sense the emotion behind the words. They stand quietly in the hallway for a moment, two wardens of the mountain connecting in silent understanding.

Otabek nods and detaches from the connection. “Any news?” he asks, even though it’s only been half an hour. As expected, Seung-gil shakes his head.

“Nikiforov would like to speak with you if that’s okay,” Seung-gil says.

It’s the first time Otabek is asked if he’s okay talking with Victor. Victor doesn’t usually _ask_ , he just gives orders and expects them to be obeyed.

Otabek glances in the direction he thinks they took JJ, but then he shrugs. Might as well talk to Victor, after all, the man did send his husband to fetch them and is currently employing a full medical team to save JJ’s life. The least Otabek can do at this point is to be civil.

Seung-gil leads the way to Victor’s office and lets Otabek in through a side door.

Yuuri is sitting on the edge of the table and talking with Victor in a hushed tone. Victor glances up as Otabek steps in, and worry is etched in the features of his face.

“Otabek,” Victor says.

“Do you know how JJ is doing?” Otabek asks immediately.

“He’s still in surgery,” Yuuri says, turning to face Otabek.

Otabek can see it in their faces. It doesn’t look promising. He swallows, cursing the fact that JJ doesn’t have healing abilities like he does. Why couldn’t the bullet hit him instead?

“Is there anything else we can do?” Otabek asks.

“If he survives the surgery, he should be in the clear,” Yuuri says. “We can only wait.”

JJ is young and strong, he will pull through. Otabek has to believe it. He walks across the soft carpeted floor and slumps down in a chair.

Seconds and minutes tick by, and Otabek comes to think about calling the others. Yuri has probably come back with the laptop, so the others know what has happened. Otabek tries not to think about Isabella, who is probably beside herself at this moment, dreading the news.

Otabek decides not to call before he knows.

Victor and Yuuri are watching him. “Do you want anything to drink?” Victor asks, apparently just to say something.

Otabek shakes his head. “I just want them to let me know as soon as there’s something to tell. Even if it’s bad news.”

“Of course,” Yuuri says.

“Oh,” Victor says and rolls his chair to the right a bit. He pulls open a drawer and starts shifting through the stuff inside. “I found something the other day that might interest you.”

Otabek opens his mouth to say he’s not interested in anything Victor wants to show him right now, but then he realizes Victor is probably trying to keep him occupied. Which in turn means Victor cares, or is at least worried about Otabek’s wellbeing.

Otabek closes his mouth and shrugs instead. Victor finds what he was looking for and gets up from his desk chair. He walks around the table and leans on the edge, holding out a photo. “I found this in the old storage room when we cleared them out during the move to this base.”

Otabek takes the photo. It’s a bunch of people smiling at the camera.

“That’s the old Agency board from about two decades ago,” Victor says. “The woman on the left—”

“That’s my mother,” Otabek breathes. He’s never seen his mother, but he’s seen pictures. He still carries one in his backpack wherever he goes.

He didn’t know his mother used to work with the Agency. Otabek looks up as if Victor can possibly have an explanation to this.

“The old file cabinets were a goldmine of information, but no one had even looked inside in about a decade,” Victor says. “And since those are the only physical copies about the accounts of the old days, I had them moved with us.”

“Was there anything about my mother?” Otabek asks.

Victor bites his lip and crosses his arms over his chest. He glances at Yuuri, who is eyeing them both with worried brown eyes. “Maybe this isn’t the best time,” Victor says. “We can talk about it when—”

The small side door slides into the wall and they all turn to look. Seung-gil comes in, followed by a woman in scrubs.

“We managed to stop the bleeding,” the woman says apologetically, “but he’s lost a lot of blood. And his body seems to reject the human type O negative.”

Yuuri jumps up. “Use my blood.” He walks over to the woman, already pulling up his sleeve as he goes.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” Otabek asks.

“Are you sure, Yuuri?” Victor asks.

“I’m sure,” Yuuri says, but he doesn’t clarify which question he answered before rushing off with the nurse.

The next half an hour is agony, because now it’s not only Otabek who is nervously pacing around the room. Victor is doing the same behind the table, stopping to watch the window-like screens every now and then.

“This screen scared the crap out of me one day,” Victor says absently, apparently to break the silence.

“Oh?” Otabek asks flatly.

“Yeah, it’s a live stream from a camera in one of the office skyscrapers in the city. One day there was a seagull sitting right in front of the camera and staring into it. I turn around to admire the view and there’s a fucking angry bird the size of a train car staring back at me.”

Otabek can’t help the small laughter that escapes his lips.

Victor sighs and runs his fingers through his silver hair. He smells like groundroot and salt, but it’s laced with another layer that can only be described as worry.

When the door slides open again, it’s Seung-gil, who is half-carrying Yuuri Katsuki. “He wouldn’t rest,” Seung-gil says gruffly.

Victor almost jumps over the table in his hurry to get to Yuuri. “Yuuri,” he breathes, taking the pale _havsrå_ from Seung-gil’s arm and carrying him over to the desk. Victor sits Yuuri in the big desk chair and crouches beside him.

Yuuri smiles weakly. “It worked,” he says.

“It worked?” Otabek repeats stupidly.

“He’s going to live.”

Otabek steps closer to the desk and looks at Yuuri. “Yuuri Katsuki, I owe you my life,” Otabek says solemnly, palm flat on his chest in an ancient gesture of gratitude.

Yuuri waves his hand weakly. “You owe me nothing. We’re on the same side here, remember?”

Otabek looks from Yuuri to Victor to Seung-gil. Perhaps they are on the same side after all.

“I think I need to go lie in a saltwater bath now,” Yuuri whispers to Victor.

Victor scoops the exhausted _havsrå_ in his arms and carries him to the open door. He turns to look at Otabek. “Call your friends. They probably want to know what’s going on. Seung-gil can pick them up and bring them here. We’ll talk more once Yuuri and JJ are better.”

When the door slides shut, Seung-gil comes over and hands Otabek a black phone like the one currently in Yuri’s pocket. For once Otabek actually wishes he hasn’t disassembled the phone into pieces.

The call goes through, so the phone is still on. At this point Otabek couldn’t care less if Victor can track them. This has gotten so much bigger than that.

_“Otabek?”_ Yuri’s voice answers. He sounds small and scared.

“Are you at Mila’s?” Otabek asks.

_“We’re all here,”_ Mila’s voice replies. _“You’re on speaker.”_

“Isabella,” Otabek says immediately. “JJ is going to survive.”

_“Oh thank the seas,”_ Isabella says in a voice that sounds like a sob.

“I can send Seung-gil to pick you up and bring you here. That is, if you want to come.” Otabek doesn’t expect resistance but he still wants to give Mila the option to refuse seeing Victor.

Mila sighs. _“We’re all coming. See you soon.”_

 

*

 

They file into Victor’s office through the side door from the garage, and for a moment everyone is gawking at the screens and the vastness and soft luxury of the underground room. Well, everyone aside from Yuri who has already seen it and who now runs to Otabek, jumping him and clinging onto him like he never wants to let go. Yuri’s legs wrap around Otabek’s waist and his arms wrap around Otabek’s neck and for a moment Otabek is half-seriously concerned about his airways being crushed as Yuri hugs him tightly.

Then the rest of them flock around and Otabek finds himself engulfed into a hug on all sides. Isabella is crying softly against his right shoulder and Mila is hugging him from behind. Even Leo has an arm on Otabek’s left shoulder in a gesture of friendship. It’s overwhelming, but in a good way. Otabek has never felt such an influx of caring around him, and it takes his breath away more efficiently than Yuri trying to strangle-hug him.

Seung-gil apparently receives an instructional message into his phone, because they are led out of the office and into a room that looks like a hobby room straight out of a rich-people interior design magazine. There is a pool table and a massive flat-screen, along with a floor-embedded couch that’s more like a massive den of fluffy pillows than a couch. There’s also a bar and two fridges with clear glass doors, stacked with drinks and snacks. Seung-gil tells them that they can freely use the room and the adjacent bathroom.

“Victor will be with you shortly,” Seung-gil says before exiting the room and leaving them to shuffle around awkwardly.

Mila stands by the door, arms crossed over her chest and sniffing the air cautiously. Yuri doesn’t have such reservations, as he tugs Otabek with him and jumps into the pool of pillows in front of the flat-screen. Mitten appears from his hood and chatters happily as it finds a particularly soft spot on a pillow.

Otabek lowers himself a bit more cautiously on the couch, and Isabella joins them. She worms her way under Otabek’s arm on one side, and Otabek hugs her tightly to his side. He knows how she must be feeling, being so close to JJ but not being able to see him. Yuri snakes in under his free arm, and when Leo also plops down on the couch, Mila sighs and joins them.

“This whole place smells like Victor,” Mila grumbles, picking nonexistent lint off a pillow.

Otabek keeps his mouth closed. He doesn’t want to cause a rift between them by telling Mila he now thinks Victor might not be so bad after all.

Someone finds the remote to the screen and they spend the next hour absently flicking through channels and talking in low voices about what happened. Mitten curls up on Yuri’s lap and sleeps there, and if it wasn’t for the worried atmosphere and the hushed discussion, this would be extremely relaxing.

“Isabella, I’m so sorry,” Yuri says for the tenth time or so.

Isabella reaches over Otabek and grabs Yuri’s arm. “Yuri, JJ got into this mess knowing there might be a possibility that things might go wrong. I’m sure JJ doesn’t blame you. I don’t blame you. No one blames you, _lillerå_.”

Yuri smiles a little sadly at the nickname.

They all sit up when the door slides open. Victor comes in, pulling the sleeves of his dress shirt down and cuffing them around his wrists.

“How is Yuuri doing?” Otabek asks.

“Tired and weak, but he’ll be fine,” Victor says.

Isabella clambers up from the couch and rushes over to Victor. She grabs his hand in hers. “Thank you so much. For everything.” She seems to have forgiven all past events, like the Agency leaving her on her own when they extracted JJ to protect him. But perhaps the recent events weigh more on the scale than older ones, Otabek thinks as he watches the scene from the couch.

“Of course,” Victor says to Isabella. His eyes slide over to the rest of them, sitting on the couch.

Mila’s posture is rigid and she’s pointedly looking at the screen, where a cooking show is playing on mute.

Victor sighs, politely detaching Isabella from his hand. “Mila,” he says. “Can I please talk to you?”

Mila draws in a long breath and exhales it in a sigh. “Fine.” She gets up from the pit of pillows and crosses her arms over her chest, staring at Victor with challenging eyes. “So talk.”

Victor looks at Mila and then the rest of them. “I was thinking—”

“Not to sound like the biggest cliché in the history of mankind, but whatever you want to say, you can say in front of them.” Mila continues staring at Victor challengingly.

Victor bites his lip and rakes his hand through his hair. Isabella is cautiously sitting on one of the barstools across the room and Yuri is sneaking peeks at the scene from under Otabek’s arm. Mitten is sleeping on a pillow beside Yuri, completely unaware of the tension in the room

“I’m sorry,” Victor finally says. “For putting the groundroot into you without asking. It was just, you were in a coma. You were _dying_.”

“You offered me the groundroot when I was still conscious, and I said no. I expected that when I’d open my eyes it would be in the next life, or whatever comes after this existence. I had already made my peace with it. But you wanted to play god and save me.” Mila’s face is stern and her words are harsh. “Imagine my surprise when I open my eyes and the doctor is declaring that I seem to be in perfect health. Ooh, it’s a _miracle_!” She waves her hands sarcastically in the air.

“You were like a sister to me,” Victor cries out, dragging his hand down his face. “I didn’t want to watch you die. It was selfish of me, yes, but it fucking _killed_ me to watch you wither away, little by little, when I knew you could _live_ if you just accepted the fact that you can’t control everything.”

“ _Me?_ Control everything?” Mila spits. “You’re the one who wanted to control everything, even my choice to live or to die.”

“Fine, if that’s what you want to hear,” Victor huffs. “I was selfish, and I acted against your will, and I’m sorry for that. But I’m not sorry for putting the groundroot into you, not really, because now you get to _live_. Even if you insist on hating me for the rest of your life, at least I know you are alive, somewhere out there.” Victor waves his hand above his head in exasperation.

“ _Guys_ ,” Isabella interrupts.

The door has slid open while Mila and Victor were arguing, and the same nurse that Otabek saw before is standing in the doorway, seemingly unwilling to declare her presence when there is a shouting match going on.

“We’ll continue this later,” Mila snaps at Victor. “News of JJ?” she asks the nurse.

The nurse clears her throat. “We have finished patching him up and he’s now in intensive care. We’re going to keep him sedated for a little while to give him time to recover, but you can see him now. Well, through a window at least.”

Victor nods. “Lead the way.”

They all follow the nurse to what looks like an underground hospital wing.

“Is there anything you _don’t_ have down here?” Otabek asks Victor.

“A golf course,” Victor replies instantly. “But it’s under construction right now.”

“Of course it is,” Mila mutters sarcastically from behind them.

“Can we please keep it civil?” Otabek asks. Isabella is walking ahead of them, bombarding the nurse with questions, and Otabek can see how worried she still is.

Life is so fragile, Otabek thinks. Human life and _rå_ life alike. Perhaps they should start appreciating that, instead of spending the precious little time they have bickering about minor details.

They get to watch JJ through an observation window. Aside from the pale hue of his skin, JJ looks like he might be sleeping peacefully. His leg is bandaged along the entire length of his thigh.

“The bullet missed the bone, but it shattered one of the tendons so we had to cut the thigh open to almost his groin to retrieve the bunched-up muscle. The worst part of the injury was blood loss. Now that that’s dealt with and the torn muscles and tendons are sewn up, he should recover just fine. It’s going to require physical therapy and he might end up with a slight limp, though.”

Isabella nods throughout the explanation but her eyes never leave JJ. “But he’s going to live,” she breathes.

The nurse smiles. “Yes, he’s going to live.”

Isabella hugs the nurse. “ _Thank you_.”

The nurse pats her on the back a few times and then detaches herself, leaving them to stand outside the room.

Otabek lowers a hand on Victor’s arm. “Thank you,” he says. “None of this would have been possible without you.”

Otabek hears Mila sigh behind them. “Yeah. I mean, I’m still mad at you, but thanks for all this.” She gestures toward the hospital equipment around JJ’s bed.

They stand awkwardly, watching the even rise of JJ’s chest, until Victor asks if they want to eat something and leads them into a dining room.

Mila grumbles under her breath, but she accepts the food and also, begrudgingly, accepts the root-juice Victor offers her. Otabek sees them both gulp down the murky liquid and grimace at the same time, and there might be a slight smile on Mila’s face when she lowers the glass on the table.

“So my mother was on the Agency board when she was alive,” Otabek says to get Victor’s attention.

“Yeah,” Victor says. He glances at Yuri and Leo. “Since you don’t know much about the Agency, I’ll just give you a brief explanation. The Agency is run locally by me, but behind me there is a board that decides about the bigger picture, so to speak.”

Leo nods. Yuri mumbles something through his forkful of food.

“Groundroot applications go to the board, and they decide who gets one. It’s kind of rare and not many people would opt for it.” Victor’s eyes slide over Mila. “But anyway. As you probably know, I have one, approved by the Agency, and Mila has one, acquired, um… _commercially_.”

“That means he hired someone to find one without approval. I hope you at least got into trouble with the board for that?” Mila mutters, but her anger seems to have lost most of its edge.

“I did,” Victor says. “Anyway, Otabek’s mother was on the Agency board until the day when she was killed.”

The sudden silence in the room is broken as Otabek’s fork falls with a clang. He turns to look at Victor with unblinking eyes.

“She was _what_?” Otabek asks. His heartbeats are ringing in his ears and his breaths come in ragged bursts. He’s vaguely aware of Yuri’s hand sliding over his on the table, but he feels like he’s in a tunnel and he can only turn his pinpoint focus onto Victor.

Victor lowers his own fork. “Shit,” he says. “I—I thought you knew. That’s why I thought today was a bad day to talk about it, what with JJ being shot as well…”

Otabek’s eyes feel dry from not blinking, but he can’t seem to bring himself to blink. “I… my dad said she died giving birth to me.”

Victor swallows. Otabek follows the movement of his throat with his unblinking eyes. “She was almost nine months pregnant when she was shot. I, uh, read the file from the old storage room. They managed to save you, but not her.”

Otabek finally manages to blink, and with the movement of his eyelids comes the wetness that runs down his cheeks. Otabek looks down to his plate of food and the small, salty droplets that keep dotting the creamy pepper sauce or whatever it is that’s spread over his steak in artful splashes.

Yuri’s hand keeps squeezing his, and Otabek clings onto the sensation like it’s the only thing keeping him from drowning.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, there was a bit of angst here. *shifty eyes* ...Sorry about that. Also sorry about shooting JJ in the leg.  
> -  
> Hit me up on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> As always, thanks to my lovely squad [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for all their help.


	16. sixteen

Victor offers them separate bedrooms, but they all vote to stay together on the massive couch, like closeness is the one thing they all need right now. It’s like a sleepover Otabek never had as a child, only the atmosphere isn’t quite as happy and they don’t build a blanket fort. He sleeps with Yuri curled up against him on one side and Isabella a little distance away on his other side. Mila is spread across the couch somewhere away from their feet, and Otabek is worried about kicking her accidentally. Not because it would hurt Mila, but because Mila might break his toes. Leo is beside Mila at the very end of the couch, and they all manage to sleep comfortably enough in the vast pit of pillows.

Otabek lies on his back and stares up at the ceiling. It’s the early hour before dawn he knows is soon coming in the outside world, but here under the ground it never does. Yuri is a warm lump snuggled up to him and Otabek can feel his breaths falling on his neck. Mitten shifts a little where it’s nestled in the crook of Yuri’s neck.

It feels like too much has happened today. First JJ got shot and then Otabek heard that his mother, apparently, was also shot and killed, and in a way he was _there_ when it happened.

But who would shoot a woman who is nine months pregnant? What could possibly warrant such a callous act of violence? There is a strangling feeling in Otabek’s throat as he thinks about it, and he tries to swallow but his throat doesn’t seem to cooperate. His shoulders pull in tightly, like his muscles are trying to curl up into themselves.

He doesn’t realize he’s crying before Yuri’s hand appears to brush his cheek softly. Otabek doesn’t know how long Yuri has been awake, but he’s leaning onto his elbow now, watching Otabek with worried yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Otabek turns to his side and buries his face into Yuri’s chest, and Yuri holds him tightly until he drifts to sleep.

 

*

 

In the morning they eat breakfast around the same table where they had dinner last night. Otabek drinks black coffee and pokes his French toast around on his plate, while Yuri scarfs down his portion beside him. In a way it’s a relief to know that no matter what happens in the world or in their lives, Yuri’s appetite is one thing Otabek can count on staying the same.

Victor is not with them at breakfast, but he appears with Yuuri when they’re almost done eating.

Isabella’s eyes focus on Yuuri, and she jumps up from her seat, rushing over to him. Yuuri finds himself engulfed in a hug so tight that Victor has to tap Isabella on the shoulder for her to loosen her grip a bit. “Sorry, sorry,” Isabella says. “I’m just so— _thank you_ so much for what you did, I mean—”

Yuuri smiles and allows her to forcefully hug him for a few more moments, even though Victor looks like he’d want to pry Isabella off entirely. Eventually Isabella lets go, wiping her cheeks, and sits down in her chair again.

Mila looks at Victor a little less hatefully this morning as Victor and Yuuri sit down. After they have gotten their portions in front of them, Mila clears her throat. “So, what is our next step?” she asks no one in particular.

They all turn to look at her.

Mila sighs. “I know for us it feels like everything is standing still, but _they_ have not stopped.” She points at the ceiling as if pointing to the hunters in the world above. “And after us targeting three of their locations they _know_ we’re after them. Which is probably why they were expecting us yesterday, which is why they managed to shoot JJ. From this on it’s only going to get more difficult. They’ve probably moved locations, and we still don’t know who is behind all this.”

Isabella looks torn. “I haven’t checked the computer or the phone you recovered yesterday,” she says.

“For a good reason,” Otabek says empathetically. “C’mon, Izzy, no one expected you to be decrypting files while JJ was bleeding out.”

Mila looks at Victor, and for the first time there is no anger in her eyes. “I was wondering if I can have access to the storage room you talked about. The one with the old files.”

Otabek doesn’t miss the glance in his direction at the last words.

Victor looks surprised that Mila is talking to him in such a friendly tone. “Um, sure. Of course, you can check those out.”

“I want to see JJ,” Isabella says. “But after that I can go get the hard drives we have at Mila’s and see if I can decrypt them here.”

“I’ll help Mila with the files in the storage,” Leo volunteers. “Two pairs of eyes might be better than one.”

“We should discuss plans,” Otabek says, motioning between him, Yuri, Victor and Yuuri. “To avoid more messed-up situations like we’ve had.”

No one is talking about leaving, which is understandable since JJ is stuck here. No one seems to question the fact that they seem to have moved their base of operations into Victor’s underground lair overnight, not even Victor.

_Are we really all working together now?_ Otabek wonders.

It’s definitely starting to look like it.

They all file down the hallway to visit JJ before scattering to do their respective jobs. JJ is awake when they come into the room. He’s still pale, but he looks a lot more alive now.

Isabella rushes to his side and JJ holds out a hand for her to grab. The other hand has the IV hooked onto it and his injured leg is propped on the edge of the bed, so they try to avoid it and flock to the other side of the bed instead.

“How are you feeling?” Isabella asks.

JJ grins goofily. “Everything hurts but the pain meds are pretty good.”

The room feels crowded with everyone inside, but JJ looks happy to see them all. He locks eyes with Otabek. “Thank you,” he says. “For not letting me give up.”

Otabek walks over and places a hand on JJ’s shoulder. “I told you that you were not going to die. You should just listen to me, you know.”

“I’ll try to remember that next time I get shot,” JJ deadpans. Isabella hisses at him for joking about such things, but JJ brushes her cheek softly with his hand. “Honey, you know me. It’s how I function.”

Next, JJ looks at Yuuri who is standing near the doorway, his arm looped with Victor’s. “I heard we’re blood brothers now,” JJ says. “Thank you for that. I’m just hoping I’m not going to need to repay you in kind, ever, but if it ever comes to that, you can count on me.”

Yuuri just smiles and bows his head a bit.

Leo looks up between Yuuri and JJ. “If they need more _havsrå_ blood, I can—”

JJ nods. “Thanks for the offer, man. I don’t know if they need more, you’re gonna have to ask the doctors.”

The visit ends with Leo having a needle in his arm in the nurse’s office while the rest of them leave in different directions to complete their tasks. Isabella looks like she doesn’t want to leave JJ, but she soldiers on without a complaint and leaves with Seung-gil to fetch the intel they have gathered at Mila’s apartment. Mila is shown into the file storage and the rest of them make their way into Victor’s office.

“So. You’ve managed to wreak some havoc in the city,” Victor says as soon as they have sat down around the desk. “When I asked you to help get rid of the hunters, burning down abandoned factories wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“Well, at least we’ve done _something_ , instead of sitting on our asses in an underground fort,” Yuri snaps.

Victor sighs. “We have been doing something. Only our methods have not been quite as… _visible_ as yours.”

“You have no idea how much work it has been to cover your tracks from the police,” Yuuri says. “Luckily we have someone from the police force on our side.”

“Well, if you told us what you were doing, maybe we wouldn’t have had to improvise so much,” Otabek snaps. “Basically you handed us equipment and told us to get rid of the hunters and pushed us out the door. What were we supposed to do?”

“Perhaps not avoid my calls all the time by having the phone in pieces?” Victor suggests. “But I admit, we could have perhaps let you in on our plans a bit more.”

“A bit more? More like _at all_ ,” Otabek mutters. He admits their tactics haven’t been the smoothest, though, and if Victor can admit he can sometimes be a vague-talking, secretive asshole, they’re probably even. Both sides have made mistakes at this point, so maybe it’s time to stop pointing fingers at each other and start pointing them toward the hunters. Together.

“So we have managed to recover some messages sent between two servers here in the city, and we found some of the locations. One of them was the office you hit, the one near the waterfront. How did you find it?” Victor asks, eyeing them curiously. “It was not on the list I gave you, and I wasn’t even aware of it when I last saw you.”

Otabek and Yuri exchange a glance. “Isabella,” Otabek then says. “She created a computer algorithm to predict the locations. It’s not a hundred percent accurate but it seems to work.”

Victor looks impressed. “Well, that might certainly come in handy. If we combine what we both know and feed that to the algorithm, perhaps—”

In the middle of their conversation the side door slides open and two people walk in. Otabek’s nose scrunches up as he measures the newcomers. There’s another groundroot, and the other… no, they’re both a mixture of freshwater and groundroot. A couple, then? Their scents are so mixed that Otabek has a hard time distinguishing which one is the _rå_ and which one is the human. He wonders if it’s the same for him and Yuri at this point; a mixed scent of earth and forest so outsiders can’t tell which one is which, until they see Yuri’s fair hair and then it becomes clear as a day who’s the _skogsrå_ here.

Yuri wrinkles his nose. “I thought you said groundroot is rare? Feels like every other person we meet has it.”

The taller of the newcomers laughs. “Ooh, this one is feisty, I like it.” He comes over and holds out a hand, and Otabek rises to greet him. As they shake hands, Otabek can smell he’s the one with the root. Which means the shorter man with jet black hair is the _sjörå_. “My name is Chris,” the tall one introduces himself. “And this is Phichit, my lover, fresh as a mountain spring and sweet as summer dew.”

The one Chris introduced as Phichit groans and shakes his head. “I’ve told you not to introduce me like that.” He comes over and shakes their hands as well, and then everyone sits back down.

“As to groundroot being rare, well, if you spend your time at a gay bar, you’re going to be meeting a lot more gay people than if you spend your time at another kind of bar. It’s a matter of concentration. There is a greater concentration of people with groundroot within the _rå_ circles than within the general population,” Chris explains to Yuri. “Sitting here at the Agency headquarters and judging the amount of groundroot in the general population is like estimating the amount of sick people in the general population by visiting a hospital.”

Yuri shrugs. “I suppose that makes sense,” he admits.

“So, what are we talking today? I have to get back to the department soon,” Chris says.

“Chris is with the police,” Yuuri explains.

Chris flashes the badge inside his suit jacket. “You should see me in my uniform,” he says with a wink.

Phichit elbows him in the ribs and Chris laughs.

“Chris, these are the ones who have been causing you trouble lately,” Victor says, motioning toward Otabek and Yuri.

Chris purses his lips and nods. “I see. Covering your tracks has definitely been time-consuming. Like trying to make about a liter of _havsrå_ blood just vanish from a crime scene. Let me tell you, _not easy_.”

“Like I said, if you had told me what you had planned, we could have done this a lot differently,” Otabek huffs.

“And had you kept the phone on—” Victor cuts himself off, shaking his head. “It’s no use bickering over it, what’s done is done. And all is not lost. They have managed to recover some hard drives and phones. We’re hoping there might be some information we can use on those,” Victor continues. “Also there is that algorithm I’m fairly interested in.”

 

*

 

The next couple of days fly by in a blur. Mila and Leo spend their time in the storage. Otabek doesn’t know why Mila wants to go through the history of the Agency. He suspects it might have at least something to do with the fact that hiding in the storage room allows Mila to avoid being in the same room with Victor. They are civil with each other, but there is still tension between them. Otabek decides it’s best let Mila’s anger run its natural course. She’ll come around when—or if—she’s ready.

Isabella sets up a computer lab in a vacant room two doors down from where JJ is, and most often she can be found sitting on the edge of JJ’s bed with a laptop or a phone she’s going through. Victor brought her the information the Agency gathered on a hard drive and she has her program sifting through it.

Yuri and Mitten are often hanging in the hospital room with Isabella. When Otabek comes to visit after yet another meeting with Victor and Chris, he finds Yuri peeking over Isabella’s shoulder at the laptop screen, while JJ is lying in bed with a book and Mitten is sleeping on the blanket at the foot of the bed.

“I thought hacking was supposed to be like, you type in a password and the machine tells you it’s wrong, so then you look at a book in the bad guy’s bookcase and conclude that the password is _midsummersdream1_ or whatever because they have Shakespeare’s collected works on the shelf,” Yuri mumbles.

Isabella casts an incredulous glance at Yuri over her shoulder. “Yeah I guess, if you’ve only watched shitty hacker movies from the 90s.” She launches into an explanation about creating a program that looks for loopholes in a string of code and tries to pry itself into the system, or something like that.

“With a normal person’s password-protected laptop, you can basically get into the system by just overriding the password protocol with a program you have on a flash drive, but these guys have all kinds of walls around the shit they want to protect,” Isabella says. “Which is smart of them but not so good for us.”

“How long is it going to take to get in?” Otabek asks.

“Well, this is the last one we got, and it’s more heavily protected than the previous ones. This guy knew what he was doing.”

“Woman,” Yuri corrects. “It was the woman’s laptop.”

Otabek wrinkles his brow. “How do you know? The guy was using it when we came in.”

Yuri shrugs. “The desk the laptop was on had the woman’s purse on it, and her coat was thrown over the backrest of the chair. Why would she put her stuff on someone else’s desk when her own was in the same room?”

JJ looks up from his book and beams. “Ooh, you’re right,” he says. “Look at you, _lillerå_ , you’d make a great detective.”

Isabella sighs. “Well, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s taking me ages to get into this. _She_ knew what she was doing.”

“What about the phone?” Otabek asks.

“I haven’t had time to look at it yet,” Isabella says. “Can’t one of Victor’s minions—”

She’s interrupted by Mila, who comes in with Leo in tow. “Guys, there you are,” she says. She’s carrying a folder under her arm. “We found something that’s, um, interesting.” She glances at Otabek. “Not that your mother’s death is interesting, but you know.”

Otabek nods. He feels Yuri shift closer to him.

“So we went through the files from the time of your birth,” Mila says.

“And three years before,” Leo adds.

“Yeah, I was getting to that.” Mila jabs an elbow into Leo’s ribs. “But we only went back because of what we found about the time when your mom was… shot.” She glances at Otabek again, like she’s making sure he’s okay.

“You sure you want to hear this?” Yuri asks quietly, slipping his hand into Otabek’s.

Otabek nods. He’s been living a lie his whole life. It’s time to face the truth.

Mila draws in a long breath. “Okay. Apparently, there was this guy who was working with the Agency, and he wanted to get approved for groundroot, but the board voted no. Or, more than half voted no. So he goes on a rampage, tears down his office and leaves with a slam of the door and then disappears. I mean, I can kind of see why they didn’t want him to have the root.” Mila exhales. “So he reappears two years later and goes on a shooting vendetta against the Agency board members who voted no on his application.” Mila looks up from the file and gives Otabek a sad glance. “Your mom was one of them. That’s how she got shot. Um, twice in the head.”

Otabek grimaces and a shudder runs through his body. He appreciates Mila’s thoroughness but he didn’t necessarily need to know _that_. But then again, that explains why she didn’t survive. There are things that are beyond _bergsrå_ healing abilities. Otabek blinks and looks down to where Yuri’s hand is holding his. Yuri’s free hand is rubbing soothing circles in the small of Otabek’s back.

“Well, I can definitely see why they wouldn’t approve his application,” Isabella says scornfully. “I mean, if he was that unstable, imagine the damage he could have done if he got the root.”

“Here’s the catch—he _did_ have groundroot,” Mila says. “Apparently he got it sometime during his absence.”

“So he gets the groundroot and comes back and shoots everyone who voted he should not get the root?” Yuri says with a shudder. “That’s kind of… sick.”

“Yes, and then subsequently he was tracked down and killed by the Agency,” Leo says. “So a lot good did that root do for him.”

“Well, there was also an autopsy report of the guy. Apparently he had royally fucked up his root-care, because he was already well on his way to becoming a root. His lungs were filled with mycelium and the rest of his organs were shutting down,” Mila says, looking down at the file in her hands.

“He knew he was dying.” Otabek shakes his head. “He knew he was dying and he wanted to have his revenge and to go out with a bang.”

He recognizes the vengeful thinking toward the Agency, because he’s sometimes guilty of it himself. But going on a killing spree over a disagreement is a whole another level of evil.

“That’s insane,” Isabella breathes, and they all nod in silent agreement.

Otabek stares at the blank wall and wonders how this will change his views on life. A few days ago he had a mother who gave her life for him when he was born. Now, suddenly, he has a mother who was gunned down by a madman because of a disagreement. It hurts his brain and his heart that people like that man exist.

 

*

 

The following day, Chris comes into JJ’s hospital room where most of them have gathered. Otabek and Yuri are lounging on the chairs beside the bed, and Mila is sitting cross-legged on the floor in the corner. The nurses have long ago given up trying to keep them out so JJ can rest, but Isabella herds them out every now and then when JJ starts to look droopy.

“Hey, can I come in?” Chris asks from the doorway. He’s wearing his police officer uniform and has a brown folder under his arm.

JJ puts down the tablet he’s been browsing while Isabella has been sitting on the edge of his bed, poking around on the phone they took from the unconscious woman on their third mission.

“Sure,” JJ says when they all look at him. “Why are you asking me? You’re the ones who are doing something here, I’m just a piece of furniture.”

“A very loud piece of furniture,” Mila jabs from the corner, where she’s leafing through an annual Agency budget report from two decades back. Otabek can’t understand why she finds this stuff so fascinating.

“I have been very quiet today,” JJ huffs.

“We seem to have a different view on what’s _quiet_.” Mila glances up from the budget report and quirks an eyebrow.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Chris says, cutting off their bickering. He looks at Isabella. “I have a case report that might have something to do with the _rå_ , I thought you might want to add it to your handy-dandy computer program or whatever it is.”

Isabella sighs, lowering the phone. She holds out a hand to take the folder. “Seriously, you’d think Victor had people who are capable of using a computer.”

“None as good as you,” JJ says from the bed.

Isabella smiles at him.

“Do I get points for that?” JJ asks, batting his lashes.

Isabella groans and slaps JJ lightly on the wrist. She opens the folder and flicks through the information. Still reading, she slides off the edge of the bed and starts walking toward the door. “I’m gonna go see to this now.” She disappears through the open door.

Mila gets up from the corner, slamming the budget report shut. “I actually have an idea and I wanna see what Izzy thinks of that,” she says and follows Isabella’s trail down the hallway.

Chris salutes them and also disappears, and JJ looks at Otabek and Yuri. “One minute the room is full of people and the next everyone just leaves. I’m hurt,” JJ whines. “And where is Leo, anyway?”

“He’s taking a swim,” Yuri says.

“Victor has built a saltwater pool for Yuuri,” Otabek explains. He has to restrain himself so he doesn’t roll his eyes at the statement, because there really isn’t a lot that Victor’s underground lair doesn’t have. Otabek wonders how it looks on a map of the city’s infrastructure—is it just a blank spot underground that’s marked as a no-build due to toxins or whatever? Have the sewers been diverted to go around the area, or do they pass through Victor’s empire? He’s going to have to ask some day.

“Not fair. When can I go for a swim?” JJ asks.

“Once the wounds have healed,” Otabek says.

JJ pouts. “Ugh, that’s gonna take ages. Can’t you pass me some of those magical healing genes or something?”

“Sorry, JJ.” Otabek shrugs in a no-can-do gesture.

Yuri tugs Otabek’s sleeve. “I was wondering, can we go outside for a while? Like, to a park or something?”

“Sure,” Otabek says. He feels so comfortable underground, artificial as it is, that it’s easy to forget Yuri might not thrive here.

“Oh, so you’re leaving me too?” JJ gasps, scandalized.

“You’ll be fine. Izzy is probably coming back in a minute. And besides, you should rest. You’ll heal faster,” Otabek says with a wink.

“Boooring,” JJ mutters as they get up and leave the room.

 

*

 

They exit the underground compound through a small staircase Seung-gil shows them.

“Be careful,” Seung-gil says. “Have your phone on and don’t go too far.”

“Feels like I’m fifteen again and have a curfew,” Otabek deadpans. He knows why everyone is worried about going outside right now, but he also feels like they can’t hide in fear all the time.

Otabek and Yuri climb up the stairs and come out through a door in a back alley. It looks like it is a few blocks away from the entrance to the garage or the apartment building where they first entered Victor’s underground lair. Otabek finds himself, once again, wondering how big the hidden complex is.

The small park they find nearby is not exactly a forest, but it’ll have to do.

Mitten jumps excitedly out of Yuri’s hood and onto his shoulder. The animal sniffs the air, chattering happily. Then it jumps off Yuri’s shoulder and climbs up the nearest tree, and Yuri looks like he might want to do the same if it wasn’t for the other people in the park. It’s a warm spring day, and having been underground for a few days it feels weird being out in the sunlight again.

They sit on a bench under the trees and watch Mitten bounce around the small group of trees like an excited child.

“It’s so weird, I feel like we should be doing something,” Yuri mutters. “Like, there isn’t anything we can do right now, but it still feels idiotic to sit around and do nothing.”

Otabek nods. He feels the same, but before they have gone through all the information Victor has and combined it with the information they can extract from the hard drives and phones, there isn’t a lot they can do. The knowledge doesn’t make waiting any easier, though.

The sunshine is warm on his chest and Yuri is warm against his side on the bench. Otabek wiggles his toes in his boots. Then he leans down to unlace them.

“You’re going to dig your toes into the ground again, aren’t you?” Yuri asks. “Can’t take you anywhere,” he groans playfully.

“Oh shut up and go hug a tree or something,” Otabek counters.

Yuri winks. “Might as well.” He gets up and goes to the tree where Mitten is currently hanging off one of the lower branches. Yuri looks up at the squirrel with a smile and places his palm on the trunk of the tree. He closes his eyes, and Otabek stops unlacing his boots to admire the view for a moment. This is the way he wants to see Yuri every day; happy and relaxed.

He hopes that they will find whoever is behind this mindless hunt soon. His chest aches every day he was to wake up underground and worry if it’s ever going to be safe for them to be in the outside world.

Hell, someone could be tracking their movements right now. Otabek leans down to unlace the other shoe, but he glances around himself as if he’s expecting someone to pull a gun out and shoot them at any moment. The only people around are two mothers and their toddlers in the nearby playground, and they don’t really look like the shooting kind of people.

Once he has the shoes unlaced he kicks them off and tugs his socks off as well. Otabek walks across the small patch of grass to Yuri, feeling the comforting touch of the ground beneath him. It’s not the same as in the wild, but it makes him feel a bit more secure. The earth hums, and Otabek goes to close his arms around Yuri. He loves the way this feels, him connected to the earth, Yuri connected to the tree and the two of them forming a circuit between the two. He breathes in the scent of Yuri’s hair and feels Yuri’s heartbeats against his chest. It’s a nice, relaxed moment in the middle of a chaotic situation.

So naturally, the phone in his pocket starts buzzing. Otabek curses under his breath. He hates being available for Victor or for anyone at any moment. He’d rather have the phone in pieces again, but they’ve agreed it stays on until all this is over and done with.

That can’t happen soon enough.

Otabek pulls the phone out of his pocket. He frowns at the number on the display and answers. “Hey, Mila, what’s up?”

_“Where are you?”_ Mila asks.

“We’re outside, taking in some freshly polluted air of the city,” Otabek says. “What’s up?”

_“You need to come back down. We got something.”_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely squad [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for all their help.


	17. seventeen

As soon as they get back to the complex and to the hobby room they have more or less claimed as their living quarters, Otabek notices the shift in the atmosphere. Leo is sitting tensely on one of the barstools, and Mila and Isabella get up from the couch pit and start explaining things at the same time. It must be something really big because otherwise Isabella wouldn’t be here.

“So it was Mila’s idea to feed the old storage files into the system,” Isabella says.

“It was just a hunch,” Mila says, waving her hand like it’s nothing.

“But a hunch that worked,” Isabella insists.

“Anyway, because I’d read the files from two decades back, and there were just so many similarities to the current situation, I thought it was worth checking out,” Mila says with a shrug.

Otabek and Yuri look at each other. “What is happening?” Otabek asks slowly. “Can either of you just slow down for a moment and explain what’s going on?”

“The incidents, from two decades back and now, they’re connected!” Mila says. “Everything is connected!” She makes a two-handed gesture indicating her brain blowing up.

“Connected how?” Yuri asks. “Also, can we get something to eat while we talk? I’m starving.”

They walk down to the dining room, and as they step inside, Victor steps back from the door he was just about to open. “Do you have a sixth sense or something? No, wait, _seventh_ sense for you _rå_ , I guess. Or maybe eighth? But anyway, I was just about to come get you. There’s lunch.”

“ _Yuri_ ,” they all say in unison as an explanation.

“Never would have guessed _skogsrå_ abilities include being able to predict when there’s food on the table,” Otabek says and briefly pulls Yuri close to kiss his temple. Victor doesn’t even bat an eyelash at this display of affection. Otabek doesn’t know at what point they stopped pretending they’re just friends. The displays of affection between them have been gradually increasing for a couple of days now, and Victor probably had a hunch of the nature of their relationship before that. He has a cunning ability of knowing things, even when he’s not supposed to.

Yuri grumbles about the teasing looks at his food-predicting abilities, but forgets his crankiness as soon as there is a plateful of food in front of him.

“Actually it’s good you’re here,” Isabella says to Victor as they all sit down at the table. “We discovered something.”

Mila side-glances at Victor. “I took the liberty of analyzing some of the old files from the storage.” She says it as a challenge, like Victor would protest her using the storage files in this manner, but Victor only nods.

“And it fits,” Isabella says. “The events from two decades ago show significant similarity to the ones that have been happening for the past couple of years.”

“Not just significant similarity. They’re the same,” Mila says. “Like, exactly the same.”

Victor frowns and spreads a napkin on his lap. “It can’t be the same culprit, he was gunned down and killed,” he says. “How do you explain that?”

“The numbers don’t lie.” Mila shrugs. “At the very least it has to be someone who knows what happened two decades ago, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to copycat like this.”

“So it has to be someone who was in the Agency back then, or after it. Someone who had access to the storage files,” Isabella explains.

Victor hums under his breath and pulls out his sleek black phone that looks the same as the one in Otabek’s pocket but somehow more expensive. He types in something and then sets the phone down, picking up his fork to spear a piece of broccoli.

“When exactly did this start again?” Otabek asks.

Yuuri, who has been sitting quietly beside Victor, tilts his head thoughtfully and looks at Victor. “It started before we got married, didn’t it? It’s been on and off a couple of years. At first it was just a random victim here and there. Recently it’s gotten a lot worse, as you know.”

“Well anyway, now that we know it’s a copycat, maybe we can better predict their next move,” Isabella says.

Victor’s phone flashes on the table and he checks the message. “Or we can ask Chris to run a background check on the shooter two decades ago and find out he apparently has a son, born after he was killed. A son, who coincidentally turned eighteen and got a hold of the funds his late father left him… about two years ago when this all started again.” Victor lowers the phone and swallows. “Looks like we’ve found our culprit.”

They all sit in silence for a moment. Even Yuri stops eating and slides a hand to touch Otabek’s hand on the table.

Otabek lowers his fork on his plate. “What, so he gets his heritage and the first thing he does is get a gun and shoot some _rå_? And then hire more people to do that for him?”

“Like father, like son. What the fuck is wrong with that family?” Mila asks, shaking her head.

 

*

 

Now that they know who they’re after, the days of not doing anything seem to be over.

Phichit comes over the following day with a folder full of information Chris dug up on the son.

As Phichit enters Victor’s office, Mitten appears on Yuri’s shoulder and steals the show for a moment as Phichit forgets what he was doing. “Aww! I have hamsters myself,” Phichit says, scratching Mitten behind the ears. “Don’t know how I ended up with a species that hates water, but they seem to tolerate me nonetheless. Plus, having river fish in an apartment building is not as fun.”

Victor sighs exasperatedly from behind the desk, and Phichit clears his throat, returning to his folder.

“Right. Apparently the kid was born after his father was killed, and he lived with his mother. There’s a series of rap sheets from when he was a teenager, violence and misconduct, so this is just continuation of an existing pattern.” Phichit flicks through the stack of papers, sighing sadly. “There’s just so much that’s gone wrong in this kid’s life, and if someone paid attention to the emerging pattern and intervened when he was growing up, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”

“Pediatric psychologist,” Victor stage-whispers.

Phichit rolls his eyes in Victor’s general direction. “Anyway, so here he is, in all his gory detail,” he says, lowering the folder on Victor’s desk and patting it a few times. “Do you have a plan?”

Victor sighs. “Well now that we know who’s behind this, we have focused all our energy to finding him. I mean, the rest of them are just hired guns, at least for the most part. We cut down the funding and at least 90 percent of them scatter away, and the rest we can deal with later.”

“And once you find him?”

“There will be no negotiations,” Victor says firmly. “We can’t allow this to continue.”

Phichit looks like he might want to argue, but in the end he just shrugs in defeat and leaves.

“Phichit always wants to save everyone,” Victor explains when the door has slid shut after Phichit. “He is a firm believer that there is no such thing as a hopeless case.”

Concluding from the firm set of Victor’s jaw, he doesn’t share the sentiment.

Once Otabek and Yuri leave the office, they find Isabella in JJ’s hospital room. JJ is finally allowed to move around a bit under the watchful eye of a physical therapist, and he’s wobbling around on crutches as Otabek enters the room with Yuri in tow.

“Izzy, we have some more information,” Otabek says, waving the folder Phichit left.

Isabella smiles. “Does that mean it will all be over soon and I can properly see that this idiot doesn’t hurt himself by trying to do too much too soon?”

Otabek places a hand on her shoulder as he passes the folder to her. “Let’s hope so.”

Yuri follows Isabella to her computer lab while Otabek stays to watch JJ do his physical therapy exercises.

“They say it’s good to start moving around soon after surgery. Prevents blood clots,” JJ explains as he wobbles over to the bed and sits down.

The physical therapist gives him a dry look. “Yes, but perhaps not so much that you tear stitches by trying too hard,” she states.

“JJ.” Otabek sighs. “There’s no rush to get out of here, and hurting yourself is not going to help any of us.”

JJ sighs. “I know. I just feel so fucking useless right now, with everyone buzzing about this new development and going around _doing_ things. I want to _help_.”

“I know.” Otabek walks over to the bed and sits down next to JJ. The physical therapist gathers her equipment and discreetly leaves the room. “But you can’t do much right now, except focus on getting better.”

“Yeah, I guess,” JJ says, exhaling a long breath. “Can you pass me the glass of water from the nightstand?”

Otabek hands him the plastic cup and JJ sips from it. “Well, good news is, apparently I can join you guys for dinner tonight. That is, if someone can bother to haul my ass there in a wheelchair, because I’m not allowed to walk that far yet.”

“Perhaps we can arrange that,” Otabek says dryly. “There goes peaceful dinnertime,” he mutters under his breath.

JJ elbows him in the side. “Fuck you, you know you have missed me.”

“Yeah,” Otabek admits easily. “We all have.”

Dinner feels happier than it has felt in a long time. They’re all present and accounted for, and in this moment it’s easy to forget what is happening in the world above them. JJ tells bad jokes and they all laugh. Isabella looks like she has stars in her eyes as she watches JJ waving his fork in the air as he talks. Yuri eats three times as much as anyone else, Leo and Mila talk in hushed tones and Victor sits at the end of the table with Yuuri, overlooking the rest of them like some kind of benevolent godfather figure. Seung-gil is standing near the door, but he comes to join them when Victor urges him to. The dinner lasts longer than any previous meal, and Otabek could swear he sees Seung-gil smile at a joke JJ makes at some point.

 _It’s the calm in the eye of the storm_ , Otabek thinks while he lowers his hand on Yuri’s knee under the table. Yuri glances at him and smiles, but there is worry in his eyes that never seems to completely disappear these days.

Otabek wants to kiss that worry away, but for the moment a soothing hand on Yuri’s knee is all he can offer.

 

*

 

They gather in Victor’s office the following morning, and despite the size of the room it feels slightly crowded with all of them there. JJ sits in his wheelchair and Isabella stands beside it. Mila is leaning onto a wall near the door, while Seung-gil does the same near another door across the room. Leo is sitting with Otabek and Yuri in the chairs across from Victor and Yuuri at the desk.

Phichit and Chris are talking in low voices near the bookcase across from the desk.

The river twins are also there in their matching jackets. They stand in the middle of the room with an air of nonchalance around them, talking silently with their fingers in a language only the two of them can understand. Otabek has noticed the river twins using this sign language when they want to talk without being eavesdropped on. He looks at their hands moving like flowing water and thinks that at times it would be useful to be able to talk silently.

Otabek looks up from their hands to Michele’s face and finds the _sjörå_ scowling at him. Otabek offers Michele a smile in greeting and for a moment Michele looks surprised. Then the scowl slides back in place. No change there, then.

“So, the plan,” Victor says, pressing a button on a small remote. Behind him, part of the cityscape screen goes black and then then flickers back to life, displaying a photo of a regular-looking teenager with light brown hair.

“This is Emil Nekola,” Victor says. “According to the information Phichit and Chris were able to procure, he’s 20 years old and has a history of violence and instability. We don’t have a more recent photo than this, he’s around 15 here.”

Otabek notices Yuri leans back a little in his chair. “He doesn’t look very dangerous,” Yuri whispers, staring at the smiling boy in the photo.

Victor looks at Yuri. “Apparently he’s extremely pleasant as a person. If you don’t happen to get on his bad side.”

“Possibly a narcissist or a psychopath,” Phichit supplies. “But he hasn’t been tested, so this is just a guess based on his file.”

“So what’s the whole story behind this?” Sara asks, looking up from Michele’s hands. “I heard he was the son of that bastard who was killing _rå_ eons ago, but what has happened now to make him continue daddy’s work?”

Phichit sighs. “Long story short, his father was killed on his own vendetta. His mother apparently filled his head with stories about how his father was mistreated by the Agency and the _rå_. Well, at least up until the day when she drank herself to death when he was thirteen. After that it was a series of foster homes and a multitude of behavioral issues. When he turned eighteen, he got his father’s heritage. I’m guessing the first thing he bought was a gun.” Phichit clears his throat. “Again, this is just speculation. But anyway, that explains the first few incidents, when _rå_ were found dead.”

Chris nods. “He was working alone at the time and didn’t really know what he was doing. It was sloppy work, even the police thought so. Since they couldn’t find a connection between the victims, they didn’t connect the cases to one shooter.”

“Then at some point I’m guessing he started hiring all sorts of lowlifes to do his work for him,” Phichit continues. “Which is why we ended up in a situation in which there were multiple small groups, all working for him, all tracking and killing _rå_. Then it became more organized, neater. This peaked sometime last fall, before the Agency caught on and started evacuating people.”

“Or sending them off into the forest,” Yuri mutters. He glances at Otabek and smiles tightly.

“Anyway, so right now we are tracking his whereabouts at all times,” Victor continues.

“You know where he is?” Yuri asks, sitting up straighter.

“Yes, thanks to Isabella we were able to recover enough information so we found him and I have people watching his every move,” Victor says.

“Well, can’t we just go in and take him down now, then?” Leo asks. “There’s enough of us.”

Victor grimaces and casts a pointed look at JJ’s leg. “I hate to use your previous missions as an example, but _that’s_ what happens without careful planning. Which is why we are here: to plot a course of action.”

As much as Otabek agrees with the sentiment about their previous missions, he can already see how this is going to go. Days of planning and going over weak spots in the plans, constructing a plan, and a backup plan, and a backup plan for the backup plan. Meanwhile that grinning douche gets to roam free and aim at people with all sorts of guns.

“We have evacuated the remaining _rå_ in the area,” Victor says as if reading Otabek’s thoughts. “All the _rå_ from this entire county are either in safe houses or in this room. There is no one he can target anymore.”

“Except a city full of people,” Mila mutters.

They all turn to look at her. “Well, if he is as big of a maniac as his file seems to indicate, what’s stopping him from taking humans as hostage to lure us out?” Mila asks. “Like, _I have this mall full of people and I’m going to blow them to bits if you don’t surrender to me_ , that kind of thing?”

“There’s no previous behavior indicating he would do that,” Phichit says.

“Yeah, but if he suddenly doesn’t have anyone he can target, wouldn’t he do all in his power to get the _rå_ to come to him?” Mila repeats. “I’m just trying to think like a trigger-happy maniac,” she explains, shrugging.

“Well, so far he’s tried to remain as discreet as we have,” Yuuri says from beside Victor. “I’m guessing he doesn’t want the cops on him any more than he wants us on him.”

“But it’s still something we need to take into consideration,” Chris says, nodding at Mila.

“Seriously, it’s _one guy_. How difficult can it be to take out one guy?” Yuri mutters from his chair where he has slumped down.

Victor smiles at Yuri a little condescendingly. “Well, either way, we need to plan carefully. It’s not only a question of _it’s just one guy_. It’s also a matter of discretion, so we can get this done without alerting half of the city’s population to our existence.”

Otabek doesn’t point out that Victor is still not one of them. He might have money and groundroot and a _havsrå_ husband, but he is still not _rå_.

Otabek stops to examine his own thought process for a moment, because he finds it surprising that his reaction to Victor labeling himself as one of _them_ is so strongly adverse. Why is he so unwilling to let Victor in? Is it because Victor has never really known what it’s like being persecuted for what he is? Victor has never had to hide himself, and he has always had the means to buy himself whatever he needs.

But then again, now Victor does need to hide what’s inside him from the general population. He can never visit a doctor who doesn’t know his secret anymore. He can never seek public office anymore, because eventually it would become obvious he doesn’t age at the same rate as a normal human.

Otabek purses his lips thoughtfully. Perhaps, in a way, Victor is closer to a _rå_ than a human these days.

They make plans to strike two locations at once in three days. If their intel holds true and nothing changes in the span of three days, Nekola is supposedly at one of them. The aim is to neutralize him at all costs. The remaining people will be taken under Agency custody until they can either be released or a decision of their indefinite detainment is reached.

“If they surrender, let them. Don’t shoot anyone who doesn’t shoot at you first,” Victor says, looking each person sternly in the eye in turn. “Nekola has made us the monsters in this story. Let them see that we are not.”

 

*

 

When Otabek wakes up in the middle of the night, the spot beside him on the vast couch is empty. He touches the sheets to his right and they feel cool under his fingers. When he looks to his left side, Isabella is also missing from the couch.

Why would they both leave in the middle of the night? _Perhaps something is up with JJ_ , Otabek thinks as he climbs out of the couch and pads down the hallway to JJ’s room.

As he cracks the door open, it’s dim in the room and JJ is sleeping peacefully in his hospital bed. There is no sign of Isabella or Yuri. Otabek closes his eyes and listens for a while. There are no sounds of anyone moving nearby, so he walks down the hall, intending to go see if they’re in the dining room. Sometimes Yuri goes to steal ice cream from the freezer in the middle of the night. Perhaps Isabella has joined him.

The door to Isabella’s computer lab is cracked open when Otabek passes it. There is a light on.

Otabek pushes the door open all the way.

Isabella is lying on her back in the middle of the floor. She doesn’t look like she fell. No, she looks like she lied down purposefully and then fell asleep.

Considering who she was probably with, it’s more likely she was _made_ to lie down so she wouldn’t hurt herself when dropping unconscious.

“Yuri, goddammit,” Otabek breathes. “What are you _doing_?”

He goes over to Isabella and crouches beside her. Isabella stirs when Otabek shakes her shoulder gently. She sits up, looking disoriented.

Otabek helps Isabella up and walks her to a chair, where she slumps down. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, just a bit dizzy. What did he do?” Isabella asks as she sits on the chair and looks around her.

“I’m guessing you mean Yuri?” Otabek confirms. Isabella nods. “Looks like he made you lie down and then knocked you out. But why?”

“He woke me up and made me come here. I opened the files with all the information on the Nekola locations.” Isabella rubs her forehead. “That’s all I know.”

Otabek rubs his temples with his fingertips and looks around himself in the computer lab. There are scattered files and maps of the city, and on the computer screen is the latest report from the people who have been tagging their target. It’s been scrolled down to the part that has a list of last known whereabouts of Emil Nekola, along with the two target locations they will be striking in two days’ time.

Otabek looks at the list and groans. “Oh no. _Shit_.”

Isabella looks up. “What?”

Otabek runs a hand through his hair. “He did the same exact thing that every protagonist in those stupid fucking YA novels does. He thought it would be better to go after Nekola alone, so we wouldn’t get hurt. Yuri has gone to kill Nekola himself.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! Sorry about the cliffhanger, again! (Also, sorry for making Emil the bad guy hahaha :D)  
> -  
> Hit me up on [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com)! My ask box is always open!  
> -  
> Thanks to my lovely squad [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) and [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for all their help.


	18. eighteen

As soon as he’s made sure that Isabella is okay, Otabek runs to where the others are still sleeping on the couch. He puts his clothes on as quickly as possible. He doesn’t stop to wake up anyone else, but he stops for a moment in front of the cupboard where they keep their guns. In the end, he shoves a handgun under his waistband, some ammo in his pockets and leaves, rushing down the hallway and into the garage.

The motorcycle is gone.

Of course it’s gone. Otabek pats the pockets of his jacket, even though he already knows the key won’t be there. Yuri must have taken it before leaving.

Otabek rakes his fingers through his hair and ponders his options. He circles around the newer bike Victor has already gotten to replace the one Otabek took on his first visit only a few weeks back.

Has it really only been weeks? It feels like it was another lifetime.

The keys to all the vehicles hang in a small cupboard beside the garage door. The door of the cupboard is locked, but that holds Otabek off for the entirety of half a second before the cupboard is entirely without a door. The door clatters on the ground as Otabek searches for a key to the new bike and finally finds it.

He doesn’t stop to ask Victor if he should go after Yuri, because he knows Victor would say no. Victor would sit in his office for hours on end, planning and pondering and hesitating. Otabek has no doubts that Isabella will have them all up and running soon, but he needs to be gone before that. He needs to find Yuri before Nekola can sniper him off the roof of some building or something.

There is a cold feeling in Otabek’s stomach when he thinks about that.

Simultaneously, the thought makes him more determined to find Yuri, but it also makes him panic, because what if right at this moment, someone is aiming a sniper rifle at Yuri’s head? No amount of mental powers can counter a strike like that if Yuri doesn’t see it coming.

Otabek has the addresses down in the order from closest to the farthest. Looking at it, the list seems impossibly long, even though there are only six addresses on it. Where would Yuri go first? Would he think like Otabek and search the places one by one, starting from the closest? Or will he go straight to the two places deemed the most likely hiding spots, the ones they were going to storm in two days’ time?

Otabek rides the bike out of the garage and stops to hesitate outside the complex. Looking down the empty streets, he decides to take a risk, bearing right at the intersection, heading for the first of the two more likely locations.

Otabek has been searching for Yuri once before in this very same city, but now he feels like he has more at stake than he did back then. Back then, he was searching for some random _skogsrå_. Now he’s looking for a _skogsrå_ that’s his everything.

He just hopes he’s not too late.

The first location is an apartment building that has been under reconstruction for a long time. The company funding the construction went bankrupt in the middle of the process and the building has been sitting here, empty and half-undone, for the better part of a year now. When Otabek gets close to the target, he kills the engine of the motorcycle and parks it in an alley a few blocks away. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket several times throughout the ride, and now he unceremoniously strips the phone of its battery without even checking who called. It was most likely Victor, and whatever Victor wants to say right now, Otabek doesn’t care to hear.

Victor’s first priority is to neutralize Nekola without alerting him that they’re onto him.

Otabek’s first priority is to find Yuri and keep him safe at all costs.

The building he’s aiming for is scaffolded all around and covered in white sheets like some kind of a ghost building. It looks completely dead from the outside.

Otabek advances quietly around the building and tugs up an edge of the sheeting to get inside. It’s dim under the sheeting, and he allows his eyes to glaze in black to see his surroundings. He weaves through the metal pipes of the scaffolding and stops outside a ground-floor window. He closes his eyes and listens.

There is definitely someone in the building. He can hear voices talking. He tries to sniff if there’s a hint of forest-scent in the air, but the overwhelming dull smell of the city makes it impossible to determine if Yuri is here.

Otabek climbs up the scaffolding until he finds a window he can crack without making too much noise. He climbs inside and finds himself in an empty apartment with the door wide open into the hallway. The floor is partially torn open to reveal the piping under the floorboards. Otabek stops to listen if anyone is coming. When there is no sound coming from the dark hallway, Otabek ventures to advance out of the apartment and down the hallway. He stops to listen on top of the stairs leading down, and he can hear the voices talking somewhere below.

Otabek descends the stairs as quietly as he can. One floor below he stops to pull out the gun from under his waistband. The clicking sound of the safety turned off feels loud like the crack of the thunder in the surrounding silence. Otabek stops, willing his beating heart to quiet down, because it’s racing so hard it makes it difficult to hear anything but the sound of his own blood rushing in his ears.

He goes down another floor. The low voices are clearer now. Otabek follows them to the door apparently leading down into the basement. The voices seem to be coming from there.

Otabek tries to remember if there was anything on the blueprints about the basement, but if there was, the memory eludes him.

The basement door is locked. Of course it is. Otabek rests his forehead against the door, listening to the sounds from below. There are multiple voices, but he can’t tell how many. He can’t tell if any of them is Yuri, either. But then again, Yuri might be unconscious or dead, if they know anything about his abilities. Otabek’s heart feels like it’s wrenched in several directions at the same time when he thinks about that.

Is there another way out of the basement? And if so, will the people below escape or try to fight him if he rips the door off its hinges now?

Time seems to be ticking by too fast and too slow simultaneously.

Finally, the thought of Yuri being somewhere below, possibly unconscious or dead, makes the decision for him. Otabek shoves the gun into his pants for a second and rips the door off its hinges with a sound that echoes around the hallways and down toward the basement.

It’s dead quiet as he walks down the stairs. No need for stealth anymore, because ripping a door off its hinges tends to alert people to the fact that someone is coming. At the bottom of the steps he stops to listen, before walking into the long hallway.

At the end of the hallway a door is open, like an invitation.

It feels like a trap, but Otabek advances toward it anyway, checking the other rooms along the way. They’re all empty. He stops a little way before the open door, breathes in and listens.

He can smell mold and humans and gunpowder. The room ahead is silent like a grave.

Hopefully not his own grave.

He exhales and goes into the room.

As soon as Otabek steps through the doorway into the basement, he registers the barrel of a gun staring back at him. In the middle of the room, with a gun pointed at Otabek’s head, stands an older version of the smiling boy Otabek saw in the photo in Victor’s office. He’s still smiling, and with the gun in his hands the happy smile looks very out of place. It looks dangerous. He’s dressed casually in a pair of sweatpants and a sweater, his hair messy around his ears. Overall, his happy demeanor seems so contradictory with the gun he’s holding.

Otabek does a quick glance around the room to see if Yuri is there. He sees nothing but several doorways and corners. Yeah, it’s definitely a trap, and he just walked into it like an idiot.

“Hello,” Emil Nekola says. “There are currently four other guns aimed at you, so I wouldn’t try anything stupid.”

Otabek hears them closing in before he sees them. One is behind him in the hallway, three others peeking from behind various corners and doorframes of the vast basement room.

“Ooh, black eyes. This one is strong, so don’t go within his reach,” Nekola says. “But keep your guns on him at all times.” He nods toward Otabek’s gun. “I suggest you drop your weapon.”

Otabek lowers his gun on the ground.

“And whatever is in your pockets, just drop everything on the floor.”

Otabek empties his pockets. There’s the extra ammo he brought, the keys to Victor’s motorcycle and the sleek black phone in pieces. He dumps them all on the floor and watches as the rounds of ammo clink and scatter around him. Then he looks at Nekola’s gun, still aimed right between his eyes.

He sends a last thought to wherever his mother and father are and closes his eyes. _Mother, father, I’ll see you soon. I’m sorry, Yuri._ He stands with his eyes closed, waiting for the rain of bullets.

Nothing happens.

Otabek opens his eyes and glares at Emil Nekola, who is still pointing his gun at Otabek and smiling like he’s just won the lottery.

“What are you waiting for? Just shoot me and get it over with,” Otabek grumbles.

To his credit, Nekola doesn’t launch into a movie-villain-like talk about his great plans. He just smiles, and the expression makes him look even creepier. “Why would I shoot you when I can use you as a bargaining chip?” Nekola asks. He nods toward one of the doorways leading out of the room. “Now walk. In there.”

Otabek walks into the dark room and as soon as he’s inside, the heavy door slams shut after him. He looks around himself in the room. It’s a large basement room, completely empty with thick concrete walls and just the one doorway he walked in through. Otabek runs his hand over the door that’s between him and Nekola. The door is solid metal and heavy. He gives it a nudge to test out its strength. It doesn’t even dent under his touch.

Otabek presses his palms against the door, trying to find the links between the atoms in the door, to bring them apart. Metal is more difficult than rock, but there is also something interfering with the process; an artificial component he can’t quite grasp. Otabek sighs and pulls his hands back.

He hears the men on the other side leave, aside from one that Nekola tells to keep guard just in case.

Otabek tries once again to move the door by strength alone, but the basement room is an old bomb shelter and the door will not budge. The walls are solid and thick, and he can’t bring them down with any means he has at his disposal.

Otabek paces in circles in the basement room, cursing his own stupidity. Yuri is probably going to walk into the same trap right now, and it’s all his fault. He wonders if Yuri went to the first address on the list, the one closest to Victor’s complex. He should have just gone there first.

Should have and should have. It’s too late to worry about what he should have done.

Otabek presses his hands against the walls, tries to feel anything. The walls feel the same as the building looks on the outside—dead. He sends a message anyway, asking for help, if anyone can feel it. He doubts anyone will.

After some more restless pacing, Otabek sits down in the far end of the room. Apparently, all he can do right now is wait.

Waiting is the worst.

He has no idea if it’s been half an hour or two hours, when he hears something from behind the door.

There are some muffled wailing noises, followed by a thud, and then the heavy door swings open. Otabek sees the guard slumped in a heap on the floor and Yuri stands in the doorway, yellow eyes flashing. Mitten is sitting on his shoulder, and the other shoulder is occupied by—Otabek squints— _a rat?_

“ _Idiot_ ,” Yuri says in greeting. “You’re the one who originally said we were supposed to be stealthy during our missions. Is _this_ your definition of stealth?” His eyes are stern.

Otabek gets up from the floor, rushing over to Yuri. “I was coming to rescue you, _fuck stealth_ ,” Otabek says with a grimace.

Yuri scoffs. “I was never in need of saving, because unlike you, I came to my senses halfway through and turned back. Then I come back to the headquarters and find out you’re gone, and of course you don’t answer the fucking phone, because you _never_ answer the fucking phone, especially when you’re supposed to. _Idiot troll_.” Yuri’s eyes are soft despite the harsh words. “You’re lucky this rat found me and told me where you are.”

Otabek turns and squints at the rat again. “Wait, are you—?” he asks. The rat squeaks. “Well, this time I’m going to buy you a whole fucking package of muesli bars. Thank you, friend.”

The rat looks like it’s saluting him.

Otabek pulls Yuri into a brief hug, and Yuri immediately melts into the touch. Otabek lingers just a few seconds, inhaling the familiar scent of the forest, counting his blessings because _Yuri is okay_. Then Otabek detaches from the hug and walks out of the room, stopping to take the gun from the guard on the floor.

“Do you know where Nekola is?” Otabek then asks in a quiet voice.

Yuri shakes his head. “I didn’t see him on my way down. Nice work with the basement door, by the way. Very discreet.”

Otabek groans. “Can we maybe talk about this later? Nekola is still in here somewhere, he wouldn’t leave me here and take off. He talked about using me as his bargaining chip.”

Yuri glances up at the ceiling. “Well, let’s go bargain with him, then.” His eyes are fierce.

The rat squeaks and climbs down Yuri’s clothes. It chitters something before disappearing into the shadows of the basement.

“The rat said—”

“I owe him, yeah, I got that,” Otabek finishes the sentence. “Now let’s go. We probably won’t get another chance like this.

“Mitten, hood,” Yuri says, clicking his tongue. The squirrel crawls into the hood obediently, but Otabek can see the small beady eyes peering out over the edge of the fabric. “And stay there,” Yuri hisses. The eyes disappear into the hood.

They leave the unconscious guard lying on the ground after Otabek has ripped the man’s own jacket and used it to tie him up.

At the bottom of the basement stairs, Otabek takes Yuri’s hand. They stand on the first step, hand in hand, staring at each other in silent understanding.

_It’s dangerous_ , Otabek’s black eyes say.

_I know_ , Yuri’s yellow ones reply. His fingers squeeze Otabek’s tightly and Otabek holds on for just a moment longer.

Then Otabek lets go of Yuri’s hand and grabs the gun more firmly. They climb up the stairs and stop at the destroyed door to listen.

Otabek lifts his eyebrows toward the ceiling and nods up. He can hear them moving above.

They sneak up the stairs and encounter a second guard outside a closed door. Yuri’s eyes flash briefly and the man slides on the floor before he can make a sound. Otabek rushes to catch him as he falls, but the gun falling from his hand still makes a sound as it hits the floor.

For a moment they stand still, Otabek hanging the unconscious man by the armpits, and listen. The sounds of conversation keep flowing through the door. Otabek slowly lowers the guard on the floor. He picks up the guard’s gun and bends the barrel, rendering the gun useless before dropping it on the unconscious figure lying sprawled on the floor.

Otabek waits for Yuri to nod from the other side of the doorframe before he turns the handle and pushes the door open. The door swings inward with a slight creak and voices stop talking.

There is a sound of a gun’s safety being clicked off twice, and then steps retreating inside the empty apartment.

They step inside the now-vacant room. The floors and walls are half-finished. There’s electrical wiring hanging from the ceiling, and they have to walk through a chalky residue from a bag of cement that’s burst open on the floor. There are already several footprints on the powdery dust covering the floor, the trail leading to another closed door.

Yuri tilts his head and halts Otabek with a hand on his arm. Yuri closes his eyes and there is a look of deep concentration on his face.

“Well, it was worth a try,” he mumbles, eyes fluttering open again.

Otabek raises an eyebrow, questioning.

“Can’t make them do stuff through the door,” Yuri says with a shrug.

Otabek looks at him incredulously. “You decided this is the best moment to test out new aspects of your skills?”

“Whatever,” Yuri hisses. “Just open the door for me. I’ll take them down.”

Otabek pulls the door open and steps out of the way.

There is one bullet shooting through the doorway immediately, but it misses Otabek’s arm and lands into the opposite wall with a crack. Yuri’s eyes flash and the first shot is also the last one. There’s a sound of two identical thuds in the next room, and then Yuri walks in. Otabek follows him suite.

The last two guards are lying sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Their guns get the same treatment as the first guard’s, before Otabek walks over to the next door and stops to listen before pushing it open. It leads into another room with doors on two walls, and seriously, how big of a maze is this apartment?

They wander around the half-finished apartment, dodging pieces of wood and abandoned bags of cement. Emil Nekola seemingly wants to play hide and seek, or then he’s trying to escape. At this point he must be aware he’s alone in the game against two _rå_. The odds are not in his favor.

Another half-finished room, another set of doors. Eventually it gets almost boring to keep opening doors and finding nothing behind them. Perhaps that’s what Nekola is counting on; dodging them for so long that they lose the sharp edge of their concentration and make a mistake.

Otabek stops at the next door and presses his ear against the wood. He stops breathing for a moment, listening through the door for any sounds in the next room.

There’s a small noise of something brushing against a surface inside.

Otabek points his finger to the door, mouthing, _he’s in there_.

They push the door open and stand aside, waiting for the gunshots, but they don’t come.

Instead, Emil Nekola starts speaking through the open door. “Haven’t seen a _skogsrå_ in a while,” he says coolly, almost conversationally. “Well, not eye-to-eye at least. The last one I saw through the telescope lens of a rifle.”

_Celestino_ , Otabek thinks, and his fingers ball into fists.

Yuri steps into the doorframe, and Otabek wants to push him out of the way, but there is still no gunshot. “He won’t shoot,” Yuri says firmly. Otabek doesn’t have time to ask how can Yuri be so sure about it. There is a strange look in Yuri’s eyes as he walks into the room, and Otabek has no option but to follow.

Emil Nekola is staring straight at Yuri and aiming a gun at his heart. “And before that older _skogsrå_ it was you, right? Although that was years ago, and I didn’t know what you were at the time. Had I realized it back then, I would have done a lot more with the knife than just threaten. Too bad you had already vanished from foster care by the time I sent people after you.”

“I should have let you cut your wrists that day, Emil,” Yuri spits and Otabek’s eyes widen. He side-glances at Yuri and sees him absently rubbing his jacket sleeve at the spot above his elbow where the scar is. Otabek’s head whips back toward the brown-haired man. _Emil Nekola is the bully who threatened Yuri with a knife in foster care? And he was the one who sent the hunters who were after Yuri in the harbor?_ So what Otabek suspected to be a leak in the Agency was, in fact, just a series of coincidences starting from Yuri’s meeting with Nekola in foster care all those years ago.

Did Yuri know all this? Otabek locks eyes with Yuri for a brief second and sees the answer in them. Yuri knew from the moment when Victor slapped Emil’s face on the screen in his office. Yuri planned to finish it alone from that very moment, or otherwise he would have said something. And yet he dared to scold Otabek for his lack of discretion? Otabek shoots Yuri a glance that says, _we’ll talk about this later_.

“Done gawking at each other, freaks?” Emil asks in monotone. The hand holding the gun wavers just a bit, but he corrects his grip and the gun is again aimed directly at Yuri. “You and your kind are the reason my father died. It’s going to be a pleasure getting rid of you.”

“Your father was denied groundroot, but he went and got one anyway, and then fucked it up all by himself. So he returns, goes on a fucking killing spree and shoots five people. One of them was _pregnant_. And you’re calling _us_ freaks?” Yuri’s words are angry.

Nekola’s eyes flash in amusement. He is probably trying to make Yuri angry so he’ll screw up or lose control. Otabek sees that Nekola has succeeded in making Yuri angry, but that Yuri is also in total control. His eyes are blazing a steady yellow and despite the anger in his tone he sounds cool, almost detached.

“Put the gun down, Emil, or I’ll make you,” Yuri says calmly.

Emil only tightens his grip on the gun. “We’ll see which one is faster, your will or my finger.”

Otabek hears the cock of the gun and he doesn’t stop to think before stepping in front of Yuri. If either of them has to take a bullet, he has a better chance of surviving it. _No harm can come to Yuri_ , Otabek thinks, staring down at the gun.

Emil quirks an eyebrow, but to him it’s seemingly all the same which one of them he shoots first.

Yuri tries to push Otabek out of the way, but when he can’t move Otabek, he circles past him to glare at Emil. “We’re done playing. _Drop the gun_ ,” Yuri says.

Emil does. The gun clatters on the ground and Emil drops to his knees.

“Should have shot me right when I walked through the door,” Yuri spits, and there is a smile spreading on his face. He looks every bit like the vengeful forest spirit he is, with his flashing eyes and a cold smile on his face. His willowy frame seems to grow taller until it towers above Emil. “And you should never have pointed a gun at my loved one. _Never_.”

Emil Nekola is not smiling anymore. He looks up at Yuri with eyes that are filled with fear.

Seeing the complete ease with which Yuri controls Emil Nekola’s will, Otabek wonders how Nekola ever thought he could take out a _skogsrå_ in a fair fight.

Having been at the receiving end of Yuri’s worst pain-inducing screech, it’s weird to watch it happen to someone else. Otabek doesn’t count Michele as having received Yuri’s worst, because what the _sjörå_ got seemed to be just a light tickle in comparison. When Otabek was writhing in pain, all he could hear was the awful noise and all he could feel was pain and nausea. He didn’t expect it to look so _calm_ from the outside. One moment Emil is kneeling, and the next he is doubled over in pain and holding his head, gun lying uselessly on the floor beside him. It takes a few seconds for the screaming to begin, and Otabek scrunches his nose as blood begins trickling out of Emil’s nose and then his ears.

Yuri tilts his head as if studying the scene in front of him with mild curiosity.

Beside them, Emil throws up on the ground, sputtering violently. Otabek almost asks Yuri to stop, but then he recalls that Emil just talked about killing Yuri, so he clenches his jaw.

Then he turns to look at Yuri.

Yuri’s eyes are glowing yellow and he has a look of fierce determination on his face. The expression is cold and full of hatred, and seeing him like this makes Otabek uneasy. He doesn’t want Yuri to become _this_.

“Just drop him unconscious and be done with it,” Otabek says quietly. “You weren’t gifted this power to _torture_ people with it. Even if they are monsters, we are not.”

Yuri’s brows knit together, but he nods slowly. The screaming stops as Emil Nekola falls unconscious in a pool of vomit.

“He’s probably going to live,” Yuri says coldly as he turns to leave. “But I doubt he’ll be able to leave whatever institution he’s going to be living in. There might be some… brain damage.”

Otabek stops him with a hand on his arm. “ _Yuri_.”

Yuri’s face remains an expressionless mask for a couple of seconds longer before it crumbles away. Yuri exhales a long, shaky breath and then his eyes seek Otabek’s. The change from a vengeful spirit to a mess of exhaustion and fear is immediate.

Yuri lets out a muffled sob. “He pointed a gun at you. For a moment I wasn’t sure if I could make him drop the gun in time, I was sure he was going to shoot you…” He trails off and wipes his cheek. “I was so scared. Of losing you. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Otabek pulls Yuri into his arms and hugs him close. Yuri’s shoulders shake and his breaths hitch against Otabek’s chest, and Otabek holds him until he calms down, pressing soft kisses into his hair. Mitten, who has been quiet in Yuri’s hood, climbs out and coos softly into Yuri’s ear until Yuri smiles into Otabek’s shirt. He brings one hand to stroke the squirrel’s fur, and Mitten chirps happily, leaning into the touch.

“Now that this is over, can we go back home?” Yuri asks, turning his head so his cheek is leaning against Otabek’s shoulder.

Despite the fact that there is a man lying unconscious in a puddle of his own vomit right next to them, Otabek has to smile. _Home_. Yuri means the forest and the mountain.

“Yeah,” he breathes the word into Yuri’s hair. “We’re going home.”

“I don’t wanna torture or kill anything ever again,” Yuri says into Otabek’s shoulder.

“I’m not going to like it, but I’ll go vegan for you,” Otabek promises. “I hear licorice roots are good this time of the year. And I’m sure Mitten will bring you pine cones.”

“Shut _up_ , you stupid troll.” Yuri looks up. He’s still sniffling, but he smiles through it.

“You can only blame yourself, you chose me,” Otabek says in a mocking tone. His heart makes a fluttery motion in his chest at the words, joking as they are.

“Yeah, I did,” Yuri says. “I guess I’ll have to live with that decision.” His eyes fade into a mixture of green and yellow, reminding Otabek of birch leaves in late autumn. Otabek stares into those eyes, and a wave of relief washes over him. He feels the muscles in his shoulders relax in a way they haven’t relaxed in a long time.

It’s over.

It’s over, and now he gets to wake up every morning to those eyes staring at him, and that’s all he could ever wish for. He brushes a strand of hair behind Yuri’s ear and it feels like his heart is swelling in his chest.

Yuri pulls him close, their noses touching.

Emil Nekola makes a weak groaning noise on the floor.

Yuri side-glances at the man on the floor and scrunches his nose against Otabek’s. “You think we should call Victor to clean up the mess?”

Momentarily Otabek has a mental image of Victor in an apron, literally cleaning up after them, and he pulls Yuri close, chuckling into his neck. “Yeah, maybe we should.” Then he looks around. “Although, I’m not sure where the phone is. Nekola took it away before locking me up.”

“Don’t worry.” Yuri pats Otabek’s hair that’s partially falling out of the braid at the crown, and then pulls a phone out of his pocket. “I got my own now,” he says with a grin.

They wander a bit farther from where Emil Nekola is twitching on the floor. Otabek scrunches his nose at the sight.

“What should I say?” Yuri asks as he flicks through the contacts. “ _Cleanup on aisle four, please?_ ”

“You damn savage,” Otabek groans and holds out a hand. “Give me that.”

“But you hate phones!” Yuri says, teasing. The worry in his eyes is gone, and Otabek stops to marvel at it for a moment before prying the phone from Yuri’s hand.

Victor answers on the fourth ring like he wasn’t waiting with the phone in hand for them to call. Otabek smiles. Some things never change.

_“Yuri?”_ Victor asks cautiously.

“We’re both here,” Otabek says.

_“Oh thank the seas,”_ Isabella’s voice says in the background.

_“You fucking idiots,”_ Mila screeches.

_“Glad you’re okay,”_ JJ shouts over Mila. _“Mila is also glad you’re okay.”_

_“I still think they’re fucking idiots,”_ Mila snaps.

_“Where is Nekola?”_ Victor asks.

Otabek glances at the twitching figure on the floor. “Um. He’s here. He’s also in need of medical attention? I think he’s having a seizure, and Yuri says there might be brain damage.”

_“Uh, well, I hate to say that’s good news, but that’s good news,”_ Victor mutters. _“So this is the location that’s under construction, right?”_

Otabek laughs. “C’mon, Victor, I think we can stop pretending that you don’t have this phone tracked.”

Victor chuckles. _“Sorry, old habits die hard. I’ll send Seung-gil to pick you up and a team for cleanup at the location.”_

Yuri trembles in silent laughter against Otabek’s side. “Cleanup on aisle four,” he whispers right before Otabek disconnects the call.

Otabek smacks him lightly on the head, eliciting a small _ow_. Yuri grins, foxlike, and Otabek pulls him by the wrist through the apartment.

Two of the men who were standing guard have already woken up and vanished from the building, leaving their useless guns behind. One is still lying sprawled on the floor, but they just step over him. Best leave it to Victor’s team. Otabek doubts these men will give the _rå_ any more trouble.

The front door is open in the wake of the two escaped men, and Otabek and Yuri walk down the crumbling front stairs. Otabek lifts the sheeting so they can make their way outside from under the scaffolding.

The dawn breaks and the horizon is shaded in pink as they stand outside the ghost building, waiting for Seung-gil to arrive. Otabek hugs Yuri to his chest and they both stare at the sky as the rising sun paints the scattered clouds in pastel shades. A lonely taxi drives past them and slows down, but continues as neither of them pays any attention to the car.

Yuri looks like he’s about to fall asleep when Seung-gil finally arrives, followed by two white vans.

“There’s one man tied up in the basement and another two on the second floor. One of them is in need of medical attention,” Otabek says as the team of people flows past them and enters the building. Someone mutters a confirmation in passing.

“Oh, right, Victor’s motorcycle,” Otabek remembers when they slump down in the car seats. “The keys are somewhere in there.” He points at the building.

“Your motorcycle, too,” Yuri mutters, fishing the keys out of his pocket. “It’s around the corner.”

“We’ll come get them later,” Otabek says, pressing a kiss into Yuri’s hair.

Yuri falls asleep on the way back and Otabek holds him close, stroking his hair while Mitten lies curled up on Yuri’s lap. Otabek smiles and stares at how Yuri’s eyelashes flutter as he sleeps. It’s been a night of terrible decisions for both of them, but somehow, by some miracle, they both made it out unscathed. He breathes in the scent of Yuri’s hair and the leather interior of the car, and listens to the even beats of Yuri’s heart.

Last few weeks have been a ravaging storm, trying to tear them apart, but now the storm is over and the world is rebuilding itself.

When the car pulls into the underground garage, Otabek lifts Yuri in his arms. “C’mon,” he whispers when Yuri stirs and wraps his arms around Otabek’s neck. “Let’s go home.”

 

*

 

A few days later Otabek walks down the streets of the city, fingers tightly laced with Yuri’s. Seung-gil offered to give them a ride, but they opted to walk. It feels strangely exhilarating to walk the busy streets in the morning rush. People are brushing past them on their way to work or school, living their lives in blissful ignorance about the fact that the city has been a battlefield for the better part of three weeks.

Otabek looks up at the cloudless sky, adjusting the backpack he fetched from Mila’s apartment last night. Victor and Yuuri’s plane should be taking off any minute now. Otabek can’t say he was surprised when Yuuri said they were retiring to one of the small islands near Hawaii and founding an ocean sanctuary. Yuuri’s eyes were soft as he talked about saving the oceans little by little.

As his final act of the CEO of the Agency, Victor set up a fund for the New Agency so they can keep operating in secret from the underground base. Of course they won’t need the _entire_ complex, and the first thing the _new_ CEO did was to call off the construction of an underground golf course, because, in her words, “Who the fuck needs an underground golf course?”

Otabek knows the New Agency is well taken care of, because Mila is very capable like that, and with Isabella and JJ at her side and Leo and Seung-gil at her beck and call, Otabek and Yuri are hardly needed.

_And besides_ , Otabek thinks when they finally reach the city limits and look at the forest spreading ahead in the distance, _if we’re needed, Mila knows where we live_.

They’re almost at the edge of the forest when the phone in Otabek’s pocket rings. “I thought I turned that off already,” Otabek mutters as he digs the device out of his pocket. He hits the green button on the screen. “Hey Mila, last chance before I turn this thing off and bury it in a pile of rocks. What do you want?”

_“Can’t a girl call her friends without wanting something?”_ Mila asks. Otabek can imagine her pacing around the office, with the massive screens on the walls turned off because having gigantic screens streaming video feed around the clock is right there with an underground golf course on Mila’s priority list.

“Uh huh,” Otabek says. Yuri chuckles softly beside him.

Otabek misses half of Mila’s reply because he loves the way Yuri laughs these days; relaxed, free and happy.

“Sorry, what was that?” Otabek asks. He listens to Mila’s reply this time, and once Mila ends the call, Otabek turns to look at Yuri.

Yuri has already turned back to face the city. “I heard her,” he says. “Guess we’re gonna have company.”

Otabek was looking forward to spending time with Yuri alone, but apparently now they’re going to have a young _skogsrå_ with them, a boy no older than six.

“Aww, your first apprentice,” Otabek suddenly realizes. “I hope you’re good with kids.”

Yuri glances at him sourly. “I hate kids.”

Otabek grins. _Well, this should be fun._

 

 -

  _THE END._

-

 

-

 

Here's some art I made of what's to come for these two. Yuri doesn't actually hate kids, he's wonderful with kids, and Otabek is even more smitten because of it... :')

 

(I'm pretty proud of the punny shirt I made for Otabek :D)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, this is it. The longest fanfic I've published in this fandom, and it's all done and posted. It's been a wild ride, I hope you have enjoyed it!  
> -  
> There have been times when I've been a bit down because I've felt that people weren't interested in my story, but I have cherished all the lovely comments I've gotten so much, you have no idea! Thank you everyone who has read, commented, kudosed and bookmarked this fic. It means the world to me.  
> -  
> If you have any questions about this verse or you want to find out more, you can always send me prompt requests or questions on my [tumblr](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com). [My ask box](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/ask) is always open for questions and prompts, so send away!  
> -  
> I can't thank my lovely beta [thoughtsappear](http://thoughtsappear.tumblr.com) enough for the work she's done on this fic and my other fics. Thank you, sweetie! ♥  
> Also a huge thanks to [tootsonnewts](http://tootsonnewts.tumblr.com) for giving me feedback about the story when I was writing it. ♥


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